Ability of suvorexant to prevent delirium in patients in the intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial

There are no effective, tolerable, and established medications for preventing delirium in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We investigated whether suvorexant was effective in preventing ICU delirium.

This randomized controlled study evaluated 70 adult patients (age ≥20 years) admitted to the mixed medical ICU of the Tokyo Medical University Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) between May 2015 and February 2017. Patients were randomized using a sealed envelope method to receive either suvorexant (n = 34; 15 mg for elderly patients and 20 mg for younger adults) or conventional treatment (n = 36) for a 7-day period. The primary outcome was delirium incidence based on the definition in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

No significant between-group differences were observed in the demographic or clinical characteristics. Kaplan-Meier estimates revealed that time to delirium onset was significantly longer in the suvorexant group than in the conventional group (P < 0.05).

Suvorexant might be effective in preventing delirium in ICU patients.