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Melatonin for Treatment of Delirium in Critically Ill Adult Patients

DELIRE-ICU: A Randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial of Melatonin vs Placebo in the Treatment of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05713877
Acronym
DELIRE-ICU
Enrollment
30
Registered
2023-02-06
Start date
2023-02-01
Completion date
2026-12-30
Last updated
2026-03-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Delirium

Keywords

Melatonin, Intensive care, Feasibility, Treatment, Critically ill, ICU

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with melatonin for treatment of delirium in critically ill adult patients. From a feasibility perspective, the investigators believe that the proposed design will achieve the minimum enrollment rate necessary to conduct a future RCT on a larger scale.

Detailed description

The prevalence of delirium is high in the intensive care unit (ICU), yet there is no pharmacological treatment that has been proven effective. The investigators hypothesize that melatonin, given on a daily basis at 21:00, will safely decrease the mean duration of a delirium episode in ICU patients. The current literature evaluating melatonin as a treatment for delirium is lacking, therefore more studies are needed. It is estimated that an alteration of sleep pattern can be found in up to 75% of patients with delirium. This raises the hypothesis that prevention and treatment of sleep disorders could potentially improve delirium. Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances are associated with low endogenous melatonin secretion and studies have shown that it also occurs in patients with delirium. Thus, the objective is to conduct a phase II double blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial comparing melatonin 9 mg to placebo to evaluate the feasibility of a future large-scale RCT. Participants will be followed during their stay in the ICU and after their transfer on another unit up to a maximum of 14 days. Feasibility of the larger trial will mainly be based on enrollment rates.

Interventions

DRUGMelatonin

Study drug will be given at 21:00 daily, starting on the day of enrolment until delirium resolution, hospital discharge, death, or up to 14 days. The study medication will be given by mouth (PO or per os) or, if needed, via the feeding tube.

DRUGPlacebo

Study drug will be given at 21:00 daily, starting on the day of enrolment until delirium resolution, hospital discharge, death, or up to 14 days. The study medication will be given by mouth (PO or per os) or, if needed, via the feeding tube.

Sponsors

Ciusss de L'Est de l'Île de Montréal
Lead SponsorOTHER
Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

All study personnel, care provider, patients and their families will remain blinded. Randomization will be performed by members of the Pharmacy Research Department.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients aged 18 years or older admitted to the intensive care unit; * Anticipated ICU stay \> 48 hours; * ICDSC score greater than or equal to 4 for a maximum of 48 hours prior to randomization.

Exclusion criteria

* Known allergy or hypersensitivity to melatonin or to ingredients in ORA-BLEND SF®; * Use of melatonin within 24 hours prior to randomization; * Presence of severe structural brain injury (intracranial hemorrhage or traumatic brain injury), severe major neurocognitive disorder, advanced neurodegenerative disease or hepatic encephalopathy; * Diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, psychotic depression, uremic encephalopathy or alcohol withdrawal; * Presence of active seizures, coma, aphasia or severe intellectual disability; * Limited short-term vital prognosis; * Diagnosis of delirium prior to ICU admission; * Pregnancy or breastfeeding; * Absolute contraindication to receive enteral medication; * Inability to understand or speak English or French; * Total blindness.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility: Enrollment rate8 monthsAverage enrollment rate of participants per month.
Clinical: Duration of delirium14 daysCompare the average duration of an episode of delirium defined as the number of days with ICDSC score ≥4 between the 2 groups.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility: Study adherence8 monthsProportion of administered doses in the prescribed dose administration window (between 19:00 and 23:00 hours) divided by total number of eligible study days.
Feasibility: Consent rate8 monthsProportion of participants recruited among eligible patients.
Clinical: Adverse events14 daysIncidence of adverse events reported in the Canadian melatonin monograph (i.e. headache and nausea) observed by the investigators or reported by the treating team.

Countries

Canada

Contacts

CONTACTJohannie Beaucage-Charron, Pharm.D., M.Sc.
johannie.beaucage-charron.cemtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca514 252 3400
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORFrançois Marquis, M.D., M.A.

Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 24, 2026