Haloperidol and clonidine use in delirious ICU patients may be associated with reduced probability of delirium resolution. This finding, however, merits further investigation given inherent limitations of this observational analysis.

A total of 3614 patients were included (1165 delirious [32%]; 2449 non-delirious [68%]).

Delirium occurred on 4708 (18.9%) of 24,906 days.

The probability of delirium resolution was lower in delirious patients who received haloperidol (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.39–0.57), clonidine (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63–0.97), or both (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.36–0.56) compared to untreated delirious patients.

This was a cohort study on a mixed ICU, excluding patients with a primary neurological disorder.

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