Table 2.

General considerations when selecting emergent medications for repeated use.

Demographics	Age
	Sex
History	Allergies
	Comorbid psychiatric disorder(s)
	Comorbid substance use disorder(s)
	Comorbid medical disorder(s)
	Severity of behaviors
	Collateral information
	Unknown/1st-time patient vs. known patient
	Direct arrival from community vs. staying in facility
Objective findings	Standardized measure of acute agitation such as a rating scale
	Laboratory results such as urine toxicology
	Electrocardiogram
	Vital signs
	Height and weight
	Physical examination
Concurrent safety interventions	Level of staff training in acute agitation identification and verbal de-escalation techniques
	Seclusion
	Restraint checklist
	Restraints
	Reassessment time point
	Goal time period to achieve calm
Medication-related issues	Concurrent medications
	Drug interactions
	Pharmacodynamics, including expected time to effect
	Expected need for additional dosing
	Cumulative dosing effects
	Side effects
	Emergent medications given up to that decision point
	Prior effective emergent medications
	Pharmacokinetics including impact of medical comorbidities on drug metabolism
	Proper training of and technique by staff administering medication (especially for intramuscular route)