Skip to content
Podcast 1012: Meth Sedation episode artwork

Jul 13, 2026 1 min

Podcast 1012: Meth Sedation

from Emergency Medical Minute

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Agitated patients who are intoxicated with methamphetamine pose a unique challenge when selecting a sedative to counter their symptoms. Is there a superior medication? A recent study compared the efficacy of commonly used medications for methamphetamine-induced agitation in the emergency department. The study compared IM Droperidol 5mg, IM Olanzapine 10mg, IM Midazolam 5mg, and IM Lorazepam 2mg. The study concluded that Droperidol, Olanzapine, and Midazolam performed similarly, with a median time to adequate sedation of 15 minutes. Lorazepam took the longest, with a median time of 30 minutes to achieve adequate sedation. Patients who received Lorazepam also required rescue medication more frequently after the initial dose. Key takeaway: Droperidol, Olanzapine, and Midazolam may be more effective than Lorazepam for treating methamphetamine-induced agitation. References: Martel M, Klein LR, Cole JB, et al. Intramuscular droperidol, olanzapine, midazolam, or lorazepam to treat methamphetamine intoxication in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;49:142-148. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.045 Summarized by Ashley Lyons, OMS4 | Edited by Ashley Lyons & Ahmed Abdel-Hafiz, NREMT-P Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/ Join our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c9ouHf

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Podcast 1012: Meth Sedation

0:00 1:58

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Emergency Medical Minute?

This episode is 1 minute long.

When was this Emergency Medical Minute episode published?

This episode was published on July 13, 2026.

Can I download this Emergency Medical Minute episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.