Drugs that induce delirium

Drug-induced delirium is often seen in clinical practice. Most knowledge ab out delirium-inducing drugs comes from reports on side effects, and few sys tematic studies have been done in the field. Delirium is strongly associate d with anticholinergic activity; drugs of different classes, including tric yclic antidepressants and traditional high-dose neuroleptics, constitute a high-risk group. A large number of drugs, including benzodiazepines, sedati ves, dopamine-activating drugs, antiepileptics, histamine H2 receptor block ers, digitalis and analgesics, are less frequently associated with deliriou s reactions and constitute a medium-high-risk group. Some of these drugs do not have anticholinergic effects but in vitro have shown to bind to muscar ine receptors, The risk of inducing delirium in frail elderly and demented persons clearly suggests that drugs which might induced delirium should be avoided.