Background : The phenomenon of restlessness, agitation, or cognitive disturbances experienced by dying patients is well-known in palliative care; more than half of these patients will experience delirium symptoms at end-of-life. When not identified early and effectively managed, delirium symptoms could lead to caregiver and patient distress and harm. Methods : 80 patients with a prognosis of 3 days or less will be recruited for an open-label randomized control trial. The two arms compare oral-transmucosal haloperidol 2.5mg vs olanzapine 5mg over 72 hours. The severity of agitation, delirium and toxicities of treatments will be compared at the 24 th , 48 th and 72 nd hour after drug administration. Discussion : This trial is the first to compare anti-psychotics in the management of delirium at the dying stage in the home hospice setting using the oral transmucosal route. Ethical considerations, as well as recruitment procedures are discussed. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04750395. Registered 11 February 2021, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04750395
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.