SynthesisCritical care (London, England)2023
Haloperidol for the treatment of delirium in critically ill patients: an updated systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.
Synthesis in Critical care (London, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Haloperidol in treating delirium, reducing mortality, and preventing delirium occurrence: Bayesian and frequentist meta-analyses.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Long-term outcomes with haloperidol versus placebo in acutely admitted adult ICU patients with delirium.Intensive care medicine · 2024Trial
- Current knowledge and challenges of sepsis-associated encephalopathy.Intensive care medicine · 2026Review
- Haloperidol dopamine receptor occupancy and antagonism correspond to delirium agitation scores and EPS risk: A PBPK-PD modeling analysis.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Medical staff's knowledge of delirium by occupation and the effectiveness of an on-demand e-learning.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- A Critical Reappraisal of Haloperidol for Delirium Management in the Intensive Care Unit: Perspective from Psychiatry.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Revisiting Delirious Mania in the Context of Neurosyphilis: A Case Report.Consortium psychiatricum · 2025Article
- Review
- How does haloperidol influence the long-term outcomes of delirium?Intensive care medicine · 2024Article
- Haloperidol and delirium: what is next?Intensive care medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHaloperidol is frequently used in critically ill patients with delirium, but evidence for its effects has been sparse and inconclusive. By including recent trials, we updated a systematic review assessing effects of haloperidol on mortality and serious adverse events in critically ill patients with delirium.
methodsThis is an updated systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of randomised clinical trials investigating haloperidol versus placebo or any comparator in critically ill patients with delirium. We adhered to the Cochrane handbook, the PRISMA guidelines and the grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation statements. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and proportion of patients with one or more serious adverse events or reactions (SAEs/SARs). Secondary outcomes were days alive without delirium or coma, delirium severity, cognitive function and health-related quality of life.
resultsWe included 11 RCTs with 15 comparisons (n = 2200); five were placebo-controlled. The relative risk for mortality with haloperidol versus placebo was 0.89; 96.7% CI 0.77 to 1.03; I
conclusionsHaloperidol may reduce mortality and likely result in little to no change in the occurrence of SAEs/SARs compared with placebo in critically ill patients with delirium. However, the results were not statistically significant and more trial data are needed to provide higher certainty for the effects of haloperidol in these patients.
trial registrationCRD42017081133, date of registration 28 November 2017.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.