The Oslo Study of Clonidine in Elderly Patients with Delirium; LUCID: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

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The Oslo Study of Clonidine in Elderly Patients with Delirium; LUCID: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Mar 22;:

Authors: Hov KR, Neerland BE, Undseth Ø, Bruun Bratholm Wyller V, MacLullich AMJ, Qvigstad E, Skovlund E, Wyller TB

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this double-blinded randomised placebo-controlled trial was to investigate the efficacy of clonidine for delirium in medical inpatients > 65 years.
METHODS: Acutely admitted medical patients > 65 years with delirium or subsyndromal delirium were eligible for inclusion. Included patients were given a loading dose of either placebo or clonidine; 75 μg every 3rd hour up to a maximum of 4 doses to reach steady state and further 75 μg twice daily until delirium free for 2 days, discharge or a maximum of 7 days of treatment. The primary endpoint was the trajectory of the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) for the 7 days of treatment. Presence of delirium according to the DSM-5 criteria and severity measured by MDAS were assessed daily until discharge or a maximum of 7 days after end of treatment.
RESULTS: Due to slower enrolment than anticipated, the study was halted early. Ten patients in each group were studied. The low recruitment rate was mainly due to the presence of multiple patient exclusion criteria for patient safety. There was no significant difference between the treatment group in the primary endpoint comparing the trajectory of MDAS for the 7 days of treatment using mixed linear models with log-transformation, (p=0.60). The treatment group did not have increased adverse effects.
CONCLUSIONS: No effect of clonidine for delirium was found, though the study was under-powered. Further studies in less frail populations are now required.

PMID: 30901487 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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