May 4, 2024

New Study: Widely Used Blood Pressure Medications Fail To Protect Against Delirium

Persistent high blood pressure, which can be successfully decreased by ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, is among the danger aspects for ICU-acquired delirium.
The observational study of the electronic health records of 4,791 racially varied clients revealed that taking these high blood pressure medications for at least six months prior to admission to an ICU did not offer adequate protective advantage or create enough brain resilience to prevent delirium.
In another work that took a look at a pharmacological technique to delirium, Dr. Khan was a co-author of a research study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2018 which found that typically recommended antipsychotic drugs did not modify the period of delirium.
In the continued mission to recognize therapies to handle or avoid delirium, he and fellow Regenstrief Institute and IU School of Medicine professor Sikandar Khan, D.O., M.S., are currently working together with the Mayo Clinic on a multi-site study to figure out if a specially designed music intervention can decrease the likelihood of mechanically aerated older adult ICU clients establishing delirium and can likewise improve post-ICU brain health.
” This research study of high blood pressure medications represents our ongoing efforts to understand the role of vascular threat elements in delirium. Our long-lasting goal is to comprehend how various biological processes in aging, such as blood pressure, swelling, etc, interact, ultimately causing delirium and after that eventually dementia”, stated Dr. Sikandar Khan.
Reference: “Relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers prescribing and delirium in the ICU-A secondary analysis” by Malissa A. Mulkey Ph.D., APRN, CCNS, CCRN, CNRN, Sikandar Khan DO, MS, Anthony Perkins MS, Sujuan Gao Ph.D., Sophia Wang MD, Noll Campbell PharmD, MS and Babar Khan MD, MS, 11 March 2023, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.DOI: 10.1111/ jgs.18285.
The study was moneyed by the National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Nursing Research and National Institute on Aging.

Delirium is a frequently short-term and serious disturbance in psychological functions that can take place as a result of a medical condition, such as an infection, an injury, or drug abuse. It is defined by modifications, disorientation, and confusion in understanding, attention, and behavior. Delirium can be a sign of an underlying condition and requires timely medical attention. It can likewise have significant effects, consisting of prolonged health center stays and long-term cognitive impairment.
Drug classes frequently utilized to manage high blood pressure are not reliable in avoiding delirium gotten in the ICU.
According to a current research study performed by a team of scientists from the Regenstrief Institute and the universities of South Carolina and Indiana, the most commonly utilized blood pressure medications, when taken for a minimum of 6 months before being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), did not supply security versus delirium in the ICU. The findings of the research study were not influenced by the clients age, gender, race, pre-existing health conditions, or insurance protection.
Each year, roughly 7 million hospitalized clients in the U.S. are impacted by delirium, an intense failure of the brain. This condition is linked to extended hospital stays and ICU stays, increased use of mechanical ventilation, long-lasting cognitive issues, the need for placement in a retirement home, and a greater threat of death. The more severe and longer-lasting the delirium, the worse the post-discharge cognitive and functional outcomes are likely to be.
We desired to discover whether chronic direct exposure to these drugs may be crucial in avoiding delirium,” said research study senior author Babar Khan, M.D., M.S., a Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researcher-clinician. “Unfortunately, we did not find a lower frequency of delirium amongst clients prescribed these medications prior to ICU admission, compared to patients who had actually not taken them.”

Delirium is a severe and frequently short-term disturbance in psychological functions that can happen as a result of a medical condition, such as an infection, an injury, or substance abuse. Delirium can be an indication of an underlying condition and requires timely medical attention. We desired to find out whether chronic exposure to these drugs might be crucial in preventing delirium,” said research study senior author Babar Khan, M.D., M.S., a Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researcher-clinician. “Unfortunately, we did not discover a lower occurrence of delirium amongst patients prescribed these medications prior to ICU admission, compared to patients who had not taken them.”