Antipsychotics for delirium.

Delirium occurs in up to 30% of hospitalised patients and is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased morbidity and mortality. Recently published reports have suggested that the standard drug for delirium, haloperidol, a typical antipsychotic that may cause adverse extrapyramidal symptoms among patients, may be replaced by atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone, olanzapine or quetiapine, that are as effective as haloperidol in controlling delirium, but that have a lower incidence of extrapyramidal adverse effects.