What are the five most common drugs found in an emergency room?

Emergency rooms deal with many types of injuries and illnesses. Some of the more common medical emergencies that require drugs are cardiac arrests/arrhythmias, strokes, seizures, allergic reactions, overdoses, and traumatic injuries.

The most frequently administered drugs for cardiac arrest are epinephrine and atropine, generally given for pulseless rhythms including asystole. Other emergency cardiac drugs include lidocaine, adenosine, amiodarone, calcium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate.

Diazepam is the most commonly used seizure-breaking agent, however many other benzodiazepines are in use.

Strokes require fibrinolytic therapy in eligible patients, and drugs such as alteplase and retaplase are the most commonly used.

For serious allergic reactions (anaphylactic shock) epinephrine is usually the drug of choice.

Traumatic injuries don't intrinsically require medication, as fluid loss is the most pressing concern. Most trauma patients receive large doses of fluid (saline or lactated ringers) and can occasionally require blood products.

Overdoses can be tricky, as the medication required to counteract the symptoms depend on what was ingested. For heroine and opioid overdoses, naloxone is an immediate and effective antidote. For poisons ingested orally, activated charcoal is often administered. Many poisons have their own unique antidote, and compiling a list is not practical.