Table 1.
Studies reporting on akathisia as a side effect of antipsychotics in patients treated for delirium
| Reference | Design | Dose | Akathisia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menza et al. (1988) | Prospective study of 14 patients on haloperidol and benzodiazepine vs 4 patients on haloperidol alone | 4 mg of haloperidol in both groups and at least 1 mg of benzodiazepine in the combined group | 2 patients in the haloperidol-only group developed akathisia (14%) |
| Fernandez & Levy (1993) | Case report of 3 patients treated with molindone for HIV delirium and one patient with perphenazine | 1 patient on molindone 60 mg daily, 1 patient on perphenazine, unknown dose, 1 patient on 1 mg of haloperidol as needed q 6 hours was switched to molindone 70 mg daily on average | Out of the 3 patients, 1 had akathisia on perhenazine; none on molindone developed akathisia |
| Han & Kim (2004) | Double-blind trial of risperidone and haloperidol in 24 patients with delirium | Risperidone at 1.02 mg daily and haloperidol at 1.71 mg daily | 1 patient (8%) in the haloperidol group developed akathisia |
| Miyaji et al. (2007) | Retrospective study comparing the risk of adverse effects between 6 patients with delirium on risperidone vs. 29 patients with delirium on oral haloperidol and 20 patients with delirium on i.m. haloperidol | Risperidone 0.75 mg daily, oral haloperidol 1.25 mg daily, and i.m. haloperidol 5 mg daily | Risperidone group 0 patients (0%), oral haloperidol group 1 patient (3%), i.m. haloperidol group 2 patients (10%) |
| Takeuchi et al. (2007) | Open-label trial of 38 patients on perospirone for treatment of delirium | Perospirone at 6.5 mg daily | 1 patient (3%) developed akathisia |
| Kim et al. (2010) | 17 patients on risperidone vs. 15 patients on olanzapine for treatment of delirium | Risperidone 0.9 mg daily and olanzapine 2.4 mg daily | 2 patients (13%) in the olanzapine group developed akathisia |
| Girard et al. (2010) | Randomized placebo-controlled trial of 35 patients on haloperidol vs. 30 patients on ziprasidone vs. 36 patients on placebo for treatment of delirium | Haloperidol 15 mg daily, ziprasidone 111.3 mg daily | 7 patients (28.5%) in the haloperidol group, 6 patients (20%) in the ziprasidone group, and 7 patients (19%) in the placebo group developed akathisia |
| Yoon et al. (2011) | Open-label prospective trial of paliperidone in 15 patients with delirium | Paliperidone 3 to 6 mg a day | 2 patients developed akathisia on paliperidone at 6 mg a day |
| Crawford et al. (2013) | Prospective cohort stady in 119 patients taking haloperidol for delirium | Haloperidol 2.1 mg daily | 13 patients (11%) on haloperidol developed akathisia |
| Maneeton et al. (2013) | A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 24 patients on quetiapine vs. 28 patients on haloperidol for treatment of delirium | Quetiapine 62.5 mg daily and haloperidol 1.25 mg daily | 0 patients (0%) on quetiapine developed akathisia, 1 patient (3.6%) on haloperidol developed akathisia |