Haloperidol vs. Placebo in ICU Patients with Delirium

link.springer.com January 11, 2024

We assessed long-term outcomes in acutely admitted adult patients with delirium treated in intensive care unit (ICU) with haloperidol versus placebo.

In acutely admitted adult ICU patients with delirium, haloperidol treatment reduced mortality at 1-year follow-up, but did not statistically significantly improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

At 1-year follow-up, we obtained vital status for 96.2% and HRQoL data for 83.3% of the 1000 randomized patients.

One-year mortality was 224/501 (44.7%) in the haloperidol group versus 251/486 (51.6%) in the placebo group, with an adjusted absolute risk difference of − 6.4%-points (95% confidence interval [CI] − 12.8%-points to − 0.2%-points; P = 0.045).