Impact of a Delirium Protocol on Deliriogenic Medication Use in Hospitalized Older Veterans

Background The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) implemented a delirium prevention and treatment protocol in 2019. Objective The primary objective of this study was to determine if the implementation of a delirium protocol influenced deliriogenic medication use in hospitalized geriatric veterans. The secondary objectives were to compare the rates of delirium diagnosis, hospital length-of-stay, and rates of newly started deliriogenic medications during admission pre- and post-protocol. Methods This study was a retrospective, secondary data analysis study. Veterans 65 years of age and older who were admitted to an inpatient medical ward at the SAVAHCS for 24 hours or more between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 (pre-protocol) or January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 (post-protocol) were included. Patients were excluded if they had a diagnosis of alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal upon admission. Results A total of 5491 patients were included in this study; 2940 (53.5%) in the pre-protocol group and 2551 (46.5%) in the post-protocol group. Patients received at least one deliriogenic medication during their admission in the post-protocol group (36.2%) compared with the pre-protocol group (34.1%), but there was no statistically significant difference (P = 0.098). There were also no significant differences in the rates of documentation of delirium as a diagnosis at discharge, hospital length-of-stay, or the rates of newly started deliriogenic medications during admission between the groups. Conclusion Implementation of a delirium prevention and treatment protocol at the SAVAHCS did not significantly impact the use of deliriogenic medications in hospitalized geriatric veterans.