Agitation is a distressing and dangerous behavior for all involved.
Objective:
To study a protocol effectiveness and safety.
Methods:
The time when the protocol was initiated and when the agitation was controlled, the number of doses needed and the complications observed were recorded.
Results:
One hundred and thirty-five inpatients of a palliative care service were included. The most frequent diagnosis was head and neck cancer, 37 (27%). The protocol was used 584 times, from 1 to 31 times on each patient, median of 3 times. Five hundred and thirty-four (91%) agitation episodes were controlled with only the first dose of the protocol, without significant complications.
Conclusion:
From those results, it can be said that this protocol is effective and safe.
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