Ketamine found more effective for treating highly-agitated patients during transport to hospital
Monday, May 23, 2016 - 17:30
in Health & Medicine
Scientists have shown that ketamine is far more effective than the more commonly used haloperidol for treating highly-agitated patients prior to hospitalization. Patients were sedated in five minutes on average when treated with ketamine -- 12 minutes faster than the average sedation time using haloperidol. The increased efficacy in sedation does come with a trade-off; the rate of complications and need for intubation both increase markedly for patients treated with ketamine.