Haloperidol has been used for many years to manage agitation in mechanically ventilated ICU patients, and it is the recommended drug for treatment of ICU delirium [90] . Kalisvaart and colleagues [91] compared the effect of haloperidol prophylaxis (1.5 mg/day preoperatively and up to 3 days postoperatively) with that of placebo in 430 elderly hip surgery patients at risk for delirium. Although there was no difference in the incidence of postoperative delirium between treatment and control groups, those in the haloperidol group had significantly reduced severity and duration of delirium (5.4 days versus 11.8 days; P < 0.001). Haloperiodol also appeared to reduce the length of hospital stay among those who developed delirium (17.1 days versus 22.6 days; P < 0.001). A recent retrospective cohort study examined haloperidol use in 989 patients who were mechanically ventilated for longer than 48 hours [92] . Despite similar baseline characteristics, patients treated with haloperidol had significantly lower hospital mortality than did those who never received the drug (20.5% versus 36.1%; P = 0.004), an association that persisted after adjusting for potential confounders. Because of the observational nature of the study and the potential risks associated with haloperidol use, these findings require confirmation in a randomized, controlled trial before they may be applied to routine patient care.