Table 2.

Clinical trials evaluating antipsychotics in critically ill patients with delirium.

Author, year	No. of patients	Inclusion criteria	Interventions	Blinding	Randomization	Primary endpoint	Results
Reade [84], 2009	20	Mechanical ventilation, inability to extubate because of agitation	Dexmedetomidine 0.2-0.7 mcg/kg/h (loading dose was optional) Haloperidol 0.5-2 mg/h (loading dose was optional)	No	Computer-generated random sequence	Time from commencement of study drug to extubation	Patients on dexmedetomidine were extubated sooner than those on haloperidol: 9.9 (IQR 7.3-24) vs. 42.5 (IQR 23.2-117.8) hours, P = 0.016.
Girard [85], 2010	101	Mechanical ventilation, abnormal level of consciousness, receipt of sedative or analgesic medications	Haloperidol 5 mg Ziprasidone 40 mg placebo. Second dose administered 12 hours after the first if QT < 500 msec; then every 6 hours.	Yes	Computer-generated, permuted-block randomization scheme	Number of days alive without delirium or coma	No significant difference in number of days alive without delirium or coma. P = 0.66. Haloperidol: 14 (IQR 6–18) days Ziprasidone: 15 (IQR 9.1-18) days Placebo: 12.5 (IQR 1.2-17.2) days
Devlin [86], 2010	36	ICU patients with delirium and an order for as-needed haloperidol	Quetiapine 50 mg every 12 hours titrated upwards on a daily basis if haloperidol was needed. Placebo.	Yes	Computer-generated random sequence	Time to first resolution of delirium	Time to first resolution was shorter with Quetiapine therapy than with placebo, P = 0.001. Quetiapine: 1 (IQR 0.5-3) days Placebo: 4.5 (IQR 2–7) days
Skrobik [87], 2004	73	ICU patients with delirium	Haloperidol 2.5-5 mg every 8 hours Olanzapine 5 mg daily	Only those assessing outcomes	Even/odds day basis	Not specified	No difference in delirium index scores, P = 0.83. No difference in benzodiazepine use, P = 0.9.

IQR, interquartile range.