Ativan...ETOH History...7mg IV last night? Too much?

nah...
considering he had been on an ativan gtt for detox, he likely built a tolerance.
compound that with his agitation, his threshhold was even higher.

think of it this way:
those few hrs that he was yelling, those lungs of his were being expanded and was working those secretions...
decreasing his risk for pneumonia.

but since the acuity of his detox s/b over, it's time to consider meds for the long term, including one that addresses probable, forthcoming agitation- if he stays off the booze.

you're fine.
he's fine.
it's all good.

leslie

Asked a MD why we don't give Haldol to DT patients and was told it increases the chance of seizure.

Had a patient who had serious DTs, was getting Ativan for 72HRs 2mg oral Q2H and 1mg IM Q3H. Didn't sleep a wink for 3 days kept on trying to get OOB (he fell once) and was on restraints for about 36 of those 72hrs. Plus when he would fight on restraints or try to get OOB he'd go from 110-120bpm to 160-180bpm.