Antipsychotic Drugs Don't Ease ICU Delirium Or Dementia
Though widely prescribed in hospital intensive care units to treat hallucinations and other signs of delirium, Haldol and similar drugs are no better than a placebo for such patients, a study finds.
Powerful drugs that have been used for decades to treat delirium are ineffective for that purpose, according to a study published online Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Antipsychotic medications, such as haloperidol (brand name, Haldol), are widely used in intensive care units, emergency rooms, hospital wards and nursing homes.
"In some, an intensive care specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They're prescribed by "very good doctors at extremely good medical centers," he says. "Millions of people worldwide are getting these drugs to treat their delirium."
