Study on the efficacy and tolerability of amisulpride in medical/surgical inpatients with delirium admitted to a general hospital

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of amisulpride in medical inpatients who present with delirium. Method Open label prospective study with 7-day follow-up. Forty hospital inpatients with delirium were recruited, seven of whom died and two of whom refused medication. The average dose of amisulpride for delirium treatment was 200–300 mg/day. Daily assessments were performed with Delirium Rating Scale (DRS), Positive Subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-P), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Neurological Subscale of the UKU side effect rating scale. Variance analysis was performed through repeated measurements, with the general linear model with paired comparisons and Bonferroni correction for each measured variable. Results Patients showed significant improvement on the DRS from the first day of treatment DRS = 17.55 until day 7 DRS = 7.26 ( F  = 92.485; p F  = 144.83; p F  = 96.56; p F  = 7.539; p  = 0.01). Conclusions These results suggest a good response to amisulpride in the acute phase of delirium, although further randomized controlled studies must be performed.