Cole JB, Driver BE, Klein LR, Moore JC, Nystrom PC, Ho JD In reply: Ketamine is an important therapy for prehospital agitation - Its exact role and side effect profile are still undefined. Am J Emerg Med. 2018 Mar;36(3):502-503. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2017.12.014. Epub 2017 Dec 7.
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Hollis GJ, Keene TM, Ardlie RM, Caldicott DG, Stapleton SG Prehospital ketamine use by paramedics in the Australian Capital Territory: A 12 month retrospective analysis. Emerg Med Australas. 2017 Feb;29(1):89-95. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.12685. Epub 2016 Oct 3.
Isbister GK, Calver LA, Page CB, Stokes B, Bryant JL, Downes MA Randomized controlled trial of intramuscular droperidol versus midazolam for violence and acute behavioral disturbance: the DORM study. Ann Emerg Med. 2010 Oct;56(4):392-401.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2010.05.037.
Isenberg DL, Jacobs D Prehospital Agitation and Sedation Trial (PhAST): A Randomized Control Trial of Intramuscular Haloperidol versus Intramuscular Midazolam for the Sedation of the Agitated or Violent Patient in the Prehospital Environment. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015 Oct;30(5):491-5. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X15004999. Epub 2015 Sep 1.
Keseg D, Cortez E, Rund D, Caterino J The Use of Prehospital Ketamine for Control of Agitation in a Metropolitan Firefighter-based EMS System. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2015 January-March;19(1):110-115. Epub 2014 Aug 25.
Linder LM, Ross CA, Weant KA Ketamine for the Acute Management of Excited Delirium and Agitation in the Prehospital Setting. Pharmacotherapy. 2018 Jan;38(1):139-151. doi: 10.1002/phar.2060. Epub 2017 Dec 22. Review.
Martel M, Sterzinger A, Miner J, Clinton J, Biros M Management of acute undifferentiated agitation in the emergency department: a randomized double-blind trial of droperidol, ziprasidone, and midazolam. Acad Emerg Med. 2005 Dec;12(12):1167-72. Epub 2005 Nov 10. Erratum in: Acad Emerg Med. 2006 Feb;13(2):233.
Miner JR Ketamine is a good first-line option for severely agitated patients in the prehospital environment. Am J Emerg Med. 2018 Mar;36(3):501-502. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2017.12.015. Epub 2017 Dec 7.
Olives TD, Nystrom PC, Cole JB, Dodd KW, Ho JD Intubation of Profoundly Agitated Patients Treated with Prehospital Ketamine. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016 Dec;31(6):593-602. Epub 2016 Sep 19.
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Scheppke KA, Braghiroli J, Shalaby M, Chait R Prehospital use of i.m. ketamine for sedation of violent and agitated patients. West J Emerg Med. 2014 Nov;15(7):736-41. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2014.9.23229. Epub 2014 Nov 11.
TREC Collaborative Group Rapid tranquillisation for agitated patients in emergency psychiatric rooms: a randomised trial of midazolam versus haloperidol plus promethazine. BMJ. 2003 Sep 27;327(7417):708-13.
Ketamine Versus Midazolam for Prehospital Agitation
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
