Pharmacologic prevention and treatment of delirium in intensive care patients: A systematic review

J Crit Care. 2015 Aug;30(4):799-807. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2015.04.005. Epub 2015 Apr 17.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine if pharmacologic approaches are effective in prevention and treatment of delirium in critically ill patients.

Materials and methods: We performed a systematic search to identify publications (from January 1980 to September 2014) that evaluated the pharmacologic interventions to treat or prevent delirium in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Results: From 2646 citations, 15 studies on prevention (6729 patients) and 7 studies on treatment (1784 patients) were selected and analyzed. Among studies that evaluated surgical patients, the pharmacologic interventions were associated with a reduction in delirium prevalence, ICU length of stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation, but with high heterogeneity (respectively, I(2) = 81%, P = .0013; I(2) = 97%, P < .001; and I(2) = 97%). Considering treatment studies, only 1 demonstrated a significant decrease in ICU length of stay using dexmedetomidine compared to haloperidol (Relative Risk, 0.62 [1.29-0.06]; I(2) = 97%), and only 1 found a shorter time to resolution of delirium using quetiapine (1.0 [confidence interval, 0.5-3.0] vs 4.5 [confidence interval, 2.0-7.0] days; P = .001).

Conclusion: The use of antipsychotics for surgical ICU patients and dexmedetomidine for mechanically ventilated patients as a preventive strategy may reduce the prevalence of delirium in the ICU. None of the studied agents that were used for delirium treatment improved major clinical outcome, including mortality.

Keywords: Delirium; ICU; Prevention; Surgical.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Critical Care
  • Critical Illness
  • Delirium / drug therapy
  • Delirium / prevention & control*
  • Dexmedetomidine / therapeutic use
  • Haloperidol / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Hypnotics and Sedatives / therapeutic use*
  • Intensive Care Units
  • Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data
  • Neuroprotective Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Postoperative Complications / drug therapy
  • Postoperative Complications / prevention & control*
  • Quetiapine Fumarate / therapeutic use
  • Respiration, Artificial / statistics & numerical data
  • Risperidone / therapeutic use
  • Rivastigmine / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
  • Hypnotics and Sedatives
  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • Quetiapine Fumarate
  • Dexmedetomidine
  • Haloperidol
  • Risperidone
  • Rivastigmine