These drugs also make PCP intoxication worse, as they did reliably in the 70's, but could never get ERs to acknowledge this. They just kept making the delirium worse.....
"Not only do the drugs not work, but they actually make people worse by prolonging their delirium," Professor Agar said.
Almost 250 patients in palliative care were given either of two commonly used drugs known an antipsychotics or a placebo.
As many as one in 10 patients in hospital have delirium, a condition where patients become restless, suffer illusions and become incoherent.
The figure is even higher for patients in palliative care.
Many are given antipsychotics such as haloperidol and risperidone.
But this new study found in patients receiving palliative care, distressing behaviour and symptoms of delirium were "significantly greater" in those treated with antipsychotics than in those receiving placebos.
"Antipsychotic drugs are not useful to reduce symptoms of delirium associated with distress in patients receiving palliative care," the authors found.
The study found identifying delirium early and treating the underlying causes reduced patient's distress more than antipsychotic medication.
It also found that making sure patients had their glasses and hearing aids, and that patients were hydrated and nourished, could prevent or treat the condition.