BMJ  2007;335:835-836 (27 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.39359.614387.80 (published 22 October 2007)

Editorials

Rapid tranquillisation in emergency psychiatric settings

In resource poor settings, a sleeping patient is better than one who needs constant observation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Two randomised controlled trials in this week's BMJ assess the effectiveness of different combinations of drugs for tranquillising and sedating people who are violent or agitated as a result of psychiatric disorders.^{1 2} Both trials were undertaken in developing countries.

The first trial, by Raveendran and colleagues, was carried out in the emergency services of a general psychiatry department in a hospital in South India. It compared the tranquillising and sedative effects of a single intramuscular administration of either olanzapine (10 mg) or a combination of haloperidol (10 mg) plus promethazine (50 mg) in 300 aggressive or agitated patients. The observation period lasted for four hours only and patients were followed up for just two weeks. This contrasts with most randomised controlled trials in psychiatry, which have treatment periods lasting for four to 12 weeks and can have several months of follow-up. The trial is important, however, because it looks at . . . [Full text of this article]

Department of Psychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore 560 029, India

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• (2007). Acute Sedation of Violent Psychiatric Patients. JWatch Emergency Med. 2007: 2-2 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Need clinical trials of solo-promethazine for rapid tranquillization.

Bruce G Charlton
bmj.com, 29 Oct 2007 [Full text]

Intramuscular Olanzepine rarely used in rapid tranquillisation

Sudip Sikdar
bmj.com, 19 Nov 2007 [Full text]