Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Jan 2015
Review Meta AnalysisPharmacological Agents for the Prevention and Treatment of Delirium in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: Systematic Review and Metaanalysis.
Postcardiac surgery delirium is associated with increased risks of morbidity, cognitive decline, poor health-related quality of life and mortality, and higher healthcare costs. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials to examine the effect of pharmacologic agents for the prevention and the treatment of delirium after cardiac surgery. ⋯ Moderate to high-quality evidence supports the use of pharmacologic agents for the prevention of delirium, but results are based largely on one randomized controlled trial. The evidence for treating postcardiac surgery delirium with pharmacologic agents is inconclusive.