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Melatonin decreases delirium in elderly patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Al-Aama T, Brymer C, Gutmanis I, Woolmore-Goodwin SM, Esbaugh J, Dasgupta M.. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2010-09-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Disturbance in the metabolism of tryptophan and tryptophan-derived compounds (e.g., melatonin) may have a role in the pathogenesis of delirium. Objective To evaluate the efficacy of low dose exogenous melatonin in decreasing delirium. Design A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Setting An Internal Medicine service in a tertiary care centre in London, Ontario, Canada. Participants 145 individuals aged 65 years or over admitted through the emergency department to a medical unit in a tertiary care hospital. Intervention Patients were randomized to receive either 0.5 mg of melatonin or placebo every night for 14 days or until discharge. Measurements The primary outcome was the occurrence of delirium as determined by Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) criteria. Results Of a total of 145 individuals (mean age (standard deviation): 84.5 (6.1) years) 72 were randomly assigned to the melatonin group and 73 to the placebo group. Melatonin was associated with a lower risk of delirium (12.0% vs. 31.0%, p = 0.014), with an odds ratio (OR), adjusted for dementia and co-morbidities of 0.19 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.06-0.62). Results were not different when patients with prevalent delirium were excluded. Limitation An intention to treat analysis was not possible due to loss to follow-up. Conclusion Exogenous low dose melatonin administered nightly to elderly patients admitted to acute care may represent a potential protective agent against delirium.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Al-Aama, T., Brymer, C., Gutmanis, I., Woolmore-Goodwin, S. M., Esbaugh, J., & Dasgupta, M. (2011). Melatonin decreases delirium in elderly patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2582
Vancouver
Al-Aama T, Brymer C, Gutmanis I, Woolmore-Goodwin SM, Esbaugh J, Dasgupta M. Melatonin decreases delirium in elderly patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2011. doi:10.1002/gps.2582. PMID: 20845391.
BibTeX
@article{alaama2011-20845391,
author = {Al-Aama, T. and Brymer, C. and Gutmanis, I. and Woolmore-Goodwin, S. M. and Esbaugh, J. and Dasgupta, M.},
title = {{Melatonin decreases delirium in elderly patients: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial}},
journal = {International journal of geriatric psychiatry},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1002/gps.2582},
pmid = {20845391},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2582}
}
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Key findings
- Results Of a total of 145 individuals (mean age (standard deviation): 84.5 (6.1) years) 72 were randomly assigned to the melatonin group and 73 to the placebo group.
- Melatonin was associated with a lower risk of delirium (12.0% vs. 31.0%, p = 0.014), with an odds ratio (OR), adjusted for dementia and co-morbidities of 0.19 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.06-0.62).
- Results were not different when patients with prevalent delirium were excluded.
Study details
- Participants145
- Effect size12.0%; 31.0%
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 77/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 47 of the 61 points we could judge it on, which is 77 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International journal of geriatric psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 145 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20845391) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 47 / 61 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 47 of the 61 points we could judge it on is 77 out of 100. |
| Total | 77 / 100 | — |
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