[Rapid tranquillisation for agitated patients with psychostimulant intoxication]

Because psychostimulant intoxication can lead to serious health risks for the patient, it is often necessary to ensure that the patient receives both adequate medical surveillance and rapid tranquillisation.
AIM: To find out whether there is scientific evidence that psychopharmacological intervention helps patients with psychostimulant intoxication to manage aggression and agitation.
METHOD: We searched the literature systematically.
RESULTS: Our study showed that intravenous droperidol worked faster and was more effective than intravenous lorazepam in inducing sedation in patients intoxicated with psychostimulants. In other studies the number of patients intoxicated with psychostimulants was too small or the patient population was not described in sufficient detail for any meaningful conclusions to be drawn.
CONCLUSION: So far, research has been so limited that it has not yet provided convincing evidence about the best medication to use in the treatment of aggressive patients intoxicated with psychostimulants.