Pharmacological treatment of delirium in palliative care patients. A systematic literature review

This systematic literature review aims to collect and analyse relevant clinical trials for the drug treatment of delirium in palliative care. The search was conducted including July 2012 in Medline (from 1966) and Embase (from 1974). The search retrieved 448 studies, of which 3 studies could be included in the analysis. Treatment with the antipsychotic drug haloperidol can be recommended, which is also true to a somewhat lower extent for the antipsychotics olanzapine and aripiprazole. Treatment with lorazepam only should be avoided. This literature analysis reflects the positive clinical experience, especially when using haloperidol. To confirm these recommendations, further substantial clinical studies are needed.The English full-text version of this article can be found at SpringerLink (under "Supplemental").