Efficacy of risperidone in treating the hyperactive symptoms of delirium

Forty-one delirious patients who received risperidone treatment and 36 who received haloperidol treatment were retrospectively analysed. Ten-point visual analog scales (scored 0 for none to 10 for extremely severe) for hyperactive and hypoactive syndromes of delirium were used for efficacy evaluation. Psychiatrists scrutinized the medical records and determined the global severity of the syndrome for each patient. The results showed that risperidone and haloperidone were both effective for treating hyperactive symptoms of delirium. The liaison psychiatrists tended to recommend haloperidol for patients with severely hyperactive symptoms and risperidone for older patients and patients with moderate hyperactive symptoms. The patients on risperidone needed much less anticholinergic agent. The maximal daily dose of risperidone was in the range 0.5-4.0 mg, with a mean of 1.17 ± 0.76 mg, which was much lower than that for schizophrenia. The present study showed that risperidone appears to be effective and safe for the treatment of delirium.