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- Aug 14, 2005
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So I'm in the psych ER and trying to get a feel for emergency antipsychotics, and it seems like every attending I work with has a different set of meds they like and dislike. For example, one attending has a major issue with PO Zyprexa in the ER because he says it takes 6 hours to reach its peak plasma concentration, whereas IM Zyprexa takes less than an hour and PO Risperdal around 2 hours. OTOH, other attendings give Zydis all the time and swear it works faster than regular PO Zyprexa (I tend to agree with the first attending.) And then some attendings give everyone 10-2-50 and then the next shift of attendings is grumpy because the patients are too sedated to assess and discharge. And I hardly ever see anyone using Geodon.
So after a couple weeks in the ER, I've been mostly giving IM Haldol +/- Ativan with either Benadryl or Cogentin, (or sometimes Prolixin to the people who say they are "allergic" to Haldol) and PO Risperdal to those who will take it. And IM Zyprexa, but not a lot because I'm afraid I won't be able to give them Ativan, thanks to the new warnings. And like I said, not a lot of ziprasidone.
So what are your favorite emergency psych meds and why?
So after a couple weeks in the ER, I've been mostly giving IM Haldol +/- Ativan with either Benadryl or Cogentin, (or sometimes Prolixin to the people who say they are "allergic" to Haldol) and PO Risperdal to those who will take it. And IM Zyprexa, but not a lot because I'm afraid I won't be able to give them Ativan, thanks to the new warnings. And like I said, not a lot of ziprasidone.
So what are your favorite emergency psych meds and why?