UTS research is transforming global approaches for the treatment of delirium, paving the way to better outcomes for people with advanced illness and those receiving palliative care.
Image Adobe Stock Images.
It often starts with confusion — mood changes, disorientation, lethargy, and sometimes terrifying hallucinations. This is delirium, a serious condition triggered by illness, injury or adverse reactions to medication or surgery.
Every year, millions of people experience delirium, which comes at an estimated annual cost of $8.8 billion in Australia alone*. It has a disproportionate impact on the elderly and those with advanced illness — for people receiving palliative care, the condition has been called a ‘harbinger of impending death’.
Globally, antipsychotics have long been the go-to treatment for delirium for these vulnerable populations.
But now, revolutionary UTS research has shown for the first time that these drugs can cause more harm than good.
Evidence base for first-line delirium treatments
In 2017, researchers with the UTS Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT)centre launched the first-ever placebo-controlled trial of 247 people with delirium who were receiving palliative care.
The trial reflected the research’s teams reservations about psychotics as a first line treatment. While these medications appeared, at a surface level, to be effective, IMPACCT researchers knew that there was very little scientific evidence to support their use.
* Pezzulo et al (2018), Economic impact of delirium in Australia: a cost of illness study. BMJ Open.