Best practice treatment for delirium in palliative care
You may be surprised to find that 80% of people will have cognitive change or delirium at the end of their life.
It’s a complex neuropsychiatric condition that is under diagnosed and distressing for patients. Symptoms include an inability to focus, hallucinations, and difficulties sleeping.
Treatment in the last few years has occasionally involved anti psychotic medication, which is typically used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia. However, recent research suggests that this type of medication may make little difference to the symptoms of patients.
Meera Agar is the Professor of Palliative Medicine at the Faculty of Health at UTS. She was involved in a randomised double-blind controlled trial that looked at whether a placebo is better than anti-psychotic medication in treating delirium.
Image: ABrooklynChic on Flickr.
