title: Delirium in the terminally ill.
abstract: Delirium is highly prevalent in terminally ill patients, especially in the last weeks of life, when some cognitive impairment develops in as many as 85% of patients. Delirium is associated with increased morbidity in terminally ill patients and can interfere with pain and symptom control. The cause of delirium is usually multifactorial and often cannot be found or reversed in dying patients. Nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions are effective in controlling the symptoms of delirium in terminally ill patients. Haloperidol and other newer neuroleptics are safe and effective in eliminating delirium for some patients. In approximately one third of patients, delirium can be managed successfully only by providing sedation.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Breitbart
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strout
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003693:Delirium / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D009017:Morbidity; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D006220:Haloperidol