[Delirium at the Hospital - Nursing effort and risk of falling: A Routine data analysis]

Delirium at the Hospital - Nursing effort and risk of falling: A Routine data analysis Abstract. Background: In order to reduce the risks and symptoms of delirium, a total hospital guideline for delirium prevention and management was established. To date, there have been few findings on the implementation of the guideline. Question / Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse data collected by application of the Delirium Observation Screening Scale and on the use of care measures for the prevention and treatment of delirium. As part of this analyses, also associations between the screening outcomes (symptoms of confusion) and the implementation of care measures and the rate of fall events, respectively, were examined in patients aged 70 and older. Method: In a non-experimental correlative cross-sectional study, routine data from the patient administration program PatWeb and the patient documentation system WiCare-Doc were analyzed over a period of four months. Results: Patients with symptoms of confusion received twice the duration of delirium-specific care compared to patients without symptoms of confusion. Their risk of falling was 4.4 times higher and after a fall event they received a significantly longer period of delirium specific care. Conclusions: The results show that the care of patients with delirium is intensive. Time is the prerequisite for care adapted to this patient group. The transfer of knowledge into practice must be strengthened to further enable nurses in implementing the prevention and management of delirium. The development of an "Advanced Practice Nurse Delirium" is also recommended for practice development and as support for every day nursing care.