Podcast 550: Good ol’ Versed

<p><strong>Contributor: Sam Killian, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Agitation can be due to a number of causes, but regardless of the cause, sedation often plays a key role in patient and provider safety. But what is the best sedative agent?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A study looked at control of agitation with intramuscular medication. Specifically, 5 different IM sedative agents were compared to see which one best provides “adequate” sedation in 15 minutes or less.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Haldol 5mg, Haldol 10mg, Versed 5mg, Zyprexa 10mg, and Geodon 20mg were all compared, and by far Versed provided the best sedative results. All medications had approximately the same amount of adverse effects.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are so many sedative options, but time and time again large dose benzodiazepines have demonstrated great effectiveness in treating acute agitation</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><a href= "https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(18)30373-1/fulltext"> <strong>1)</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Klein, Lauren R. et al. Intramuscular Midazolam, Olanzapine, Ziprasidone, or Haloperidol for Treating Acute Agitation in the Emergency Department.</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Annals of Emergency Medicine.</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">2018. 72(4), 374 - 385</span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD</span></em></p>