Oral Medication for Agitation of Psychiatric Origin: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Understanding more about the efficacy and safety of oral second-generation antipsychotic medications in reducing the symptoms of acute agitation could improve the treatment of psychiatric emergencies.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to examine the evidence base underlying expert consensus panel recommendations for the use of oral second-generation antipsychotics to treat acute agitation in mentally ill patients.

Methods: The Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Study-Based Register was searched for randomized controlled trials comparing oral second-generation antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, or first-generation antipsychotics with or without adjunctive benzodiazepines, irrespective of route of administration of the drug being compared. Six articles were included in the final review.

Results: Two oral second-generation antipsychotic medications were studied across the six included trials. While the studies had relatively small sample sizes, oral second-generation antipsychotics were similarly effective to intramuscular first-generation antipsychotics in treating symptoms of acute agitation and had similar side-effect profiles.

Conclusions: This scoping review identified six randomized trials investigating the use of oral second-generation antipsychotic medications in the reduction of acute agitation among patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies. Further research will be necessary to make clinical recommendations due to the overall dearth of randomized trials, as well as the small sample sizes of the included studies.