A psychiatrist (blinded) will assess the patient for agitation and their capacity to consent. Patients will be informed about the study and asked to complete informed consent prior to being included in the study. Patients who decline will not be included. A nurse (blinded) will administer either 10mg asenapine or placebo sublingually in a randomized fashion. Efficacy in reducing acute agitation will be evaluated using the PANSS-EC. A trained rater (blinded) will rate patients at baseline and at 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes (or endpoint) after medication administration. Efficacy in reducing acute agitation will also be evaluated using the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). A trained rater (blinded) will rate patients at baseline CGI-Severity and CGI-Change at 60 and 120 minutes (or endpoint) after medication administration. The need for additional medications, interventions or physical restraints will be recorded and constitute the endpoint for that patient. Demographics, diagnoses, blood alcohol level, urine toxicology, and urine pregnancy will be collected.
