Antipsychotics used to treat ICU delirium don't help

Two commonly used antipsychotic drugs don't work well to treat delirium in ICU patients, according to new results from a large clinical trial. Antipsychotics have been used to treat delirium — which can cause problems with attention, awareness, and agitation — for decades without a clear consensus on how well they work. So researchers gave 566 ICU patients with delirium either haloperidol, ziprasidone, or a placebo infusion. There wasn't any significant difference in how long delirium lasted, time in the ICU or hospital, or mortality three months out between the three groups. The authors say their findings add to the evidence that shows there's a clear need for better treatments.