Ramelteon is Not Associated With Improved Outcomes Among Critically Ill Delirious Patients: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Delirium commonly affects critically ill patients and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Some studies have suggested that ramelteon may prevent delirium, but ramelteon's impact on treating delirium is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of critically ill delirious patients treated with ramelteon versus those who were not. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 322 intensive care unit patients stratified based on ramelteon exposure after a nonnegative Confusion Assessment Method-ICU score. MAIN OUTCOMES: Primary outcomes were hours alive without delirium or coma and likelihood of delirium-coma resolution. Secondary outcomes were ventilator-free hours, likelihood of extubation, and mortality. RESULTS: Hazard ratios for delirium-coma resolution, extubation, and 10-day mortality were 1.05 (95% confidence interval 0.54-2.01), 1.20 (95% confidence interval 0.47-3.03), and 0.31 (95% confidence interval 0.07-1.32), respectively. Median delirium-coma free hours did not differ between ramelteon exposed and unexposed patients. Median ventilator-free hours were higher in the ramelteon group, however, ramelteon was administered postextubation in 92% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Ramelteon was not associated with increased likelihood of delirium-coma resolution, extubation, or changes in mortality.

Prophylaxis with antipsychotic medication reduces the risk of post-operative delirium in elderly patients: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Delirium commonly occurs in hospitalized elderly patients, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Although evidence for treatment of delirium exists, evidence supporting pharmacologic prevention of delirium in high risk patients is limited. OBJECTIVE: This review examined whether delirium in at-risk patients can be prevented with antipsychotic prophylaxis in the inpatient setting. DATA SOURCES: A systematic literature review of articles from January 1950 to April 2012 was conducted in PubMed, PsychInfo, and Cochrane Controlled Trials and databases. STUDY SELECTION: Five studies (1491 participants) met our inclusion criteria for analysis. Medication administered included haloperidol (three studies), risperidone (one study), and olanzapine (1 study). All five studies examined older post-surgical patients, spanning five different countries. DATA EXTRACTION: Only RCTs of antipsychotic medication used to prevent delirium were included. Key words used in the search were: "delirium," "encephalopathy," "ICU psychosis," "prevention," and "prophylaxis." Studies had to include a validated method of diagnosing delirium. Data analysis was performed using the Metan command in Stata (Stata Corp LP, College Station, TX). RESULTS: The pooled relative risk of the five studies resulted in a 50% reduction in the relative risk of delirium among those receiving antipsychotic medication compared with placebo (RR(95% CI): 0.51 (0.33-0.79; heterogeneity, p < 0.01, random effects model). Examination of the funnel plot did not indicate publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: Although few studies have examined prophylactic use of antipsychotics, this analysis suggests that perioperative use of prophylactic antipsychotics may effectively reduce the overall risk of postoperative delirium in elderly patients.

A Comparison of Early, Late, and No Treatment of Intensive Care Unit Delirium With Antipsychotics: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of early versus late versus no antipsychotic administration on intensive care unit (ICU) delirium. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in 2 adult medical ICUs at a single tertiary care center in Boston, Massachusetts, from October 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016. The study included 322 patients stratified into those who first received antipsychotics < 48 hours after first positive or unscorable (due to sedation) modified Confusion Assessment Method (CAM-ICU-m) (early), > 48 hours after first positive or unscorable CAM-ICU-m (late), and never received antipsychotics. Primary outcomes were hours alive without delirium or coma and likelihood of delirium-coma resolution. Secondary outcomes included ventilator-free hours, likelihood of extubation, and 10-day mortality. In post hoc exploratory analyses, outcomes were reanalyzed excluding comatose patients. RESULTS: Mean ± SD delirium-coma-free hours were 63 ± 87 for patients who received antipsychotics early, 66 ± 92 for those who received antipsychotics late, and 89 ± 107 for those who never received antipsychotics (P = .71). Antipsychotic exposure did not impact delirium-coma resolution. Mean ventilator-free hours were 103 ± 87 for patients who received antipsychotics early, 90 ± 83 for those who received antipsychotics late, and 89 ± 101 for patients who never received antipsychotics (P = .11). The hazard ratio (HR) for 10-day mortality among patients who received antipsychotics early was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.37-1.22) and 0.30 (95% CI, 0.10-0.88) for those who received antipsychotics late compared to those who never received antipsychotics (P = .03). After excluding comatose patients, the effect of antipsychotics on 10-day mortality was no longer observed (early HR = 0.57, 95% CI, 0.30-1.07; late HR = 0.57, 95% CI, 0.28-1.18; never HR = 1 [reference]; P = .14). CONCLUSION: Antipsychotics were not associated with changes in delirium-coma-free hours or ventilator-free hours.

Pseudologia Fantastica in the Emergency Department: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Psychiatrists commonly encounter deception in the emergency department. This article presents the case of a patient who presents to the emergency department with an unusual and elaborate web of deceptions along multiple themes including feigning medical illness, multiple losses, and grandiose academic and athletic achievements. We review the clinical characteristics of pseudologia fantastica and discuss how this patient's constellation of malingering, factitious disorder, and personality disorder suggests this diagnosis.

Delirium in hospitalized patients: Risks and benefits of antipsychotics.

Consensus panel guidelines advocate for the judicious use of antipsychotic drugs to manage delirium in hospitalized patients when nonpharmacologic measures fail and the patient is in significant distress from symptoms, poses a safety risk to self or others, or is impeding essential aspects of his or her medical care. Here, we review the use of haloperidol, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and aripiprazole for this purpose.