Haloperidol prophylaxis does not prevent postoperative delirium in elderly patients: a randomized, open-label prospective trial.

Purpose: Postoperative delirium is the most common postoperative complication in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the preventive administration of low-dose haloperidol on the development of postoperative delirium after abdominal or orthopedic surgery in elderly patients.

Subjects: A total of 119 patients aged 75 years or older who underwent elective surgery for digestive or orthopedic disease were included in this study.

Vitamin D deficiency in elderly women in nursing homes: investigation with consideration of decreased activation function from the kidneys.

Objectives: To determine the approximate percentage of women in nursing homes who have vitamin D deficiency and to investigate whether, in assessing vitamin D status in elderly women, there are problems with measuring only 25 hydroxy-vitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3) ) and whether decreased vitamin D activation as a result of poor renal function needs to be considered.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Forty-eight nursing homes in Japan.