What question did this study set out to answer?

April 15, 2026International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

Pharmacological management of delirium after cardiac surgery. A survey of UK cardiac centres

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Why the study?

Anecdotally, medication choices for post-operative delirium vary widely between UK cardiac centres, and assessing variation in local guidelines and practice is needed to inform future research.

What is the extent of variation in pharmacological management of post-operative delirium across UK cardiac centres?

Population

32 UK NHS adult cardiac centres

Design

Freedom of Information survey

Authors

TBT BryanPapworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust VMV MarquissPapworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Clinicians should follow local protocols for post-operative delirium now; leaves open optimal sequences pending national guidance and trials.

Key Points

To assess the variation in pharmacological management of post-operative delirium across UK cardiac centres.
Sent Freedom of Information requests to NHS adult cardiac centres.
Collected local guidelines and responses to ten prescribing practice questions.
Achieved a 91% response rate from contacted centres.
No two centres had the same treatment pathway for post-operative delirium.
Haloperidol was the first-line treatment in two-thirds of centres.
Significant variation existed in the prescribing sequence and choice of treatment agents.

Structured PICO

What is the extent of variation in pharmacological management of post-operative delirium across UK cardiac centres?

Population

32 UK NHS adult cardiac centres (29 responded)

Intervention

Freedom of Information (FOI) request survey regarding local guidelines and prescribing practice for post-operative delirium

Outcome

Extent of variation in drug choices for the management of post-operative delirium

There is widespread variation and lack of consensus in the pharmacological management of post-operative delirium across UK cardiac centres, highlighting the need for national guidance.

Limitations

Relying on the FOI team at each cardiac centre to identify a suitable survey respondent may increase inter-respondent variation.

Cite This Study

Bryan et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69df2c9ee4eeef8a2a6b1d74 https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpp/riag034.023

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Implication

Clinicians should follow local protocols for post-operative delirium now; leaves open optimal sequences pending national guidance and trials.

Pharmacological management of delirium after cardiac surgery. A survey of UK cardiac centres

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Cite This Study

Pharmacological management of delirium after cardiac surgery. A survey of UK cardiac centres

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider