J Emerg Med
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Multicenter Study
First-generation Antipsychotics Are Often Prescribed in the Emergency Department but Are Often Not Administered with Adjunctive Medications.
Although first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) have long been used in the emergency department (ED) to treat acute agitation, little is known about how these medications are used in modern clinical practice. In particular, little work has been published about whether ED clinicians administer FGAs with adjunctive medications in accordance with expert guidelines or the prescribing practices of FGAs over time. ⋯ First-generation antipsychotics are still widely utilized in the ED. When administered, these medications are used with adjunctive medications that may decrease side effects less than half of the time. Droperidol use has remained unchanged in the years after the FDA black-box warning, whereas use of haloperidol has continued to rise.