What is your preferred PRN for management of pediatric agitation in the emergency department?

Choice of drugs depends on specific clinical presentation, psychotropic medication history, and comorbid medical conditions. Many, perhaps most, children's hospitals have electronic order sets for agitation in urgent settings, with allowances for override as these specific variables dictate. My typical regimen, which I acknowledge may be several years out of date as I have stepped down from clinical practice, if there are no contraindications as noted, has been to administer olanzapine in its or...

If the patient has taken antipsychotics previously, chlorpromazine is a great option. If the patient is naive to those types of medications, then I would choose diphenhydramine.