Two antipsychotics fail to improve delirium over placebo in hospital patients

Haloperidol and ziprasidone did not significantly alter the course of delirium compared with placebo in a group of patients with acute respiratory failure or shock in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU), a study has found. Researchers had hypothesized that both the typical and atypical antipsychotics would result in a shorter duration of delirium and coma than placebo.