CONSUMPTION TRENDS OF RESCUE ANTI-PSYCHOTICS FOR DELIRIUM IN INTENSIVE CARE UNITS (ICU DELIRIUM) SHOW INFLUENCE OF CORRESPONDING LUNAR PHASE CYCLES: A RETROSPECTIVE AUDIT STUDY FROM ACADEMIC UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN THE UNITED STATES.

Abstract

Background: The etiology of delirium in intensive care units (ICU) is usually multi-factorial. There is common "myth" that lunar phases affect human body especially human brains (and minds).

Objective: In the absence of any pre-existing studies in ICU patients, the current retrospective study was planned to investigate whether lunar phases play any role in ICU delirium by assessing if lunar phases correlate with prevalence of ICU delirium as judged by the corresponding consumptions of rescue anti-psychotics used for delirium in ICU.

Materials and methods: After institutional review board approval with waived consent, the daily census of ICU patients from the administrative records was accessed at an academic university's Non-Cancer Hospital in a Metropolitan City of United States. Thereafter, the ICU pharmacy's electronic database was accessed to obtain data on the use of haloperidol and quetiapine over the two time periods for patients aged 18 years or above. Subsequently the data was analyzed for whether the consumption of haloperidol or quetiapine followed any trends corresponding to the lunar phase cycles.

Results: A total of 5382 pharmacy records of haloperidol equivalent administrations were analyzed for this study. The cumulative prevalence of incidents of haloperidol equivalent administrations peaked around the full moon period and troughed around the new moon period. As compared to male patients, female patients followed much more uniform trends of haloperidol equivalent administrations' incidents which peaked around the full moon period and troughed around the new moon period. Further sub-analysis of 70-lunar cycles across the various solar months of the total 68-month study period revealed that haloperidol equivalent administrations' incidents peaked around the full moon periods during the months of November-December and around the new moon periods during the month of July which all are interestingly the major holiday months (a potential confounding factor) in the United States.

Conclusion: Consumption trends of rescue anti-psychotics for ICU delirium revealed an influence by lunar phase cycles particularly that of full moon periods on female patients in the ICU.