ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Agitation control with clonidine and haloperidol in critically ill patients: A retrospective analysis
Authors' conclusion
This study found no difference in agitation control among ICU patients treated with clonidine, haloperidol or both.
Study context
- Population
- Mixed ICU patients with ≥1 agitation episode (RASS score > 1) treated with clonidine and/or haloperidolagitation episodes in 247 patients
- Participants
- 510 patients
- Exposure
- Haloperidol only or both vs clonidine only
- Clonidine onlyn = 273reference
- Haloperidol onlyn = 88
- Bothn = 149
- Outcome
- Agitation control (−2 ≤ target RASS score ≤ 1)
- Follow-up
- Within six hours of medication administration
Methodological detailspropensity score matching, Markov multinomial logistic regression
- Propensity score matching
- Markov multinomial logistic regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs clonidine onlyOdds ratio (95 % CI)
Haloperidol only
1.00(0.57–1.76)
Both
0.83(0.52–1.32)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Adjusted difference (mg) (95 % CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Propofol usageHaloperidol only vs Clonidine only | - 44.8 (−89.1 to −0.5) | |
| Propofol usageBoth vs Clonidine only | - 48.4 (−85.6 to −11.1) | |
| Opioid usageBoth vs Clonidine only | - 52.3 (−93 to −11.7) | |
| −100−50050Difference, mg (linear scale) |
Benzodiazepine administration
- No difference in benzodiazepine administration
Original publication
Agitation control with clonidine and haloperidol in critically ill patients: A retrospective analysis. J Crit Care. Published 17 June 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →