Haldol, Benadryl and one other drug are part of the common rotation used by nurses to sedate troublesome patients so they can skate out of handling said patient during their shift.
When said patient regains control of their faculties they are often confused and angry as a day is missing from their memory.
Benadryl and Haldol arguably don’t belong in the same sentence at all, considering their ridiculously different effects and profile. You’re right that they’re used though. Is there any reason Haldol should be used like that at all, beyond it already being available as a psych drug? And even if Benadryl isn’t as effective (I dunno) surely something that isn’t as bad in side effects could be found? Many instances of said sedation are totally unnecessary, but many are eminently necessary to restrain someone actively violent.
I only ever saw this B52 trifecta used when untrained nurses from other units had to do a shift staffing the psych ward. Thankfully that particular psych ward was closed down 2 years ago due to repeatedly assigning untrained nurses to work in that department.
The regular nurses who had completed the state mandated training did not usin this combination of drugs on patients.
In a psych ED it was a lot more common to use 20mg ziprasidone and 2 mg lorazepam - "20 and 2" - for acutely agitated/psychotic patients. Before anyone passes judgement on doing that ask yourself if you've actually seen someone who is truly in psychosis or mania. I almost considered going into psychiatry because of how well antipsychotics and mood stabilizers work, particularly the monthly depot forms of antipsychotics, work and how they really do give patients their lives back.
I think psychiatrists have moved away from haloperidol and the internists or family doctors in nursing homes haven't caught up yet. Not that there's going to be much practical difference between Geodon and Haldol. Of course psych ED is a much different situation than on the floor of a nursing home where it might be more appropriate to use a low dose of Seroquel for delirious patients.
When said patient regains control of their faculties they are often confused and angry as a day is missing from their memory.