title: A protocol for the acute control of agitation in palliative care: a preliminary report.
abstract: Agitation is one of the most frequent causes for palliative sedation. It often requires urgent control to avoid negative consequences and even endangerment of all involved, including the patients themselves. A protocol for the control of episodes of agitation was developed, based on a previous experience. The protocol includes a combination of haloperidol and midazolam. The protocol was used 86 times in 27 patients. Each patient was sedated from 1 to 12 times, median 2 times. The median time from the beginning of sedation to the control of agitation was 15 minutes with a range from 1 minute (2 cases) to 3 hours and 5 minutes (only 1 case). In 71 cases (83%), only the first dose was needed. There were no significant complications.
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Institute of Oncology, Porto, Portugal. ferrazg@netcabo.pt
authors.forename: Ferraz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Natércia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Edra
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008874:Midazolam / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D006220:Haloperidol; D008874:Midazolam