Post-Hospitalization Outcomes of Antipsychotics for Critically Ill Patients with Delirium

Delirium in critically ill patients is associated with long-term cognitive impairment and disability. In a previous randomized trial (MIND-USA), 566 critically ill patients with delirium at 16 U.S. hospitals received haloperidol, ziprasidone, or placebo for as long as 14 days. Neither haloperidol nor ziprasidone affected duration of delirium or other in-hospital outcomes (NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 1 2018 and N Engl J Med 2018; 379:2506). Now, the MIND-USA investigators report longer-term cognitive, functional, psychological, and quality-of-life outcomes.

Survival at 3 and 12 months was similar in the three treatment groups. Validated telephone-administered surveys demonstrated cognitive impairment in approximately one third of survivors at both 3 …