Role of Haloperidol and Benzodiazepines in the management of Delirium: A systematic review

Introduction: Acute confusional syndrome (ACS) or delirium is one of the most common cognitive disorders in hospitalized elderly patients. It has an organic origin, manifesting as a complication of an existing condition or developing during its course. It is characterized by an acute and fluctuating alteration in the level of consciousness and attention, accompanied by disturbances in memory, thinking, language, and perception. Materials and methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of haloperidol and benzodiazepines in the therapeutic management of delirium in hospitalized patients over 18 years of age. Articles were selected from the PubMed, Cochrane, SciELO, and Elsevier databases, including publications in Spanish and English from the last 10 years. Results: Five studies from the preselected literature that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included. Conclusion: This study suggests that the combination of haloperidol and benzodiazepines is effective for the management of delirium, especially in palliative settings. However, the variability of the included studies makes it difficult to establish a definitive conclusion about the superiority of this treatment over the isolated use of haloperidol.