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Delirium in the intensive care unit: a review

Alessandro Morandi1, James C Jackson

  • 1Center for Health Services Research, Vanderbilt Medical Center, 1215 21st Avenue South MCE Suite 6100, Nashville, TN 37232-1269, USA. morandi.alessandro@gmail.com

Neurologic Clinics
|October 29, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Delirium, a common brain dysfunction in hospitals, leads to poor outcomes. Interventions to prevent delirium in intensive care units (ICUs) are needed to improve patient management and reduce negative effects.

Area of Science:

  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Neuroscience
  • Geriatrics

Background:

  • Delirium is a frequent complication in general medical and intensive care unit (ICU) patients, affecting up to 80% of individuals.
  • This acute brain dysfunction is linked to adverse outcomes, including extended hospital stays, elevated healthcare costs, increased mortality rates, and potential long-term cognitive deficits.
  • Sedation is identified as a significant risk factor, impacting patient management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the prevalence and consequences of delirium in critically ill patients.
  • To discuss the role of risk factors, such as sedation, in delirium development.
  • To explore the potential adaptation of multicomponent delirium prevention interventions from non-ICU settings to the ICU environment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on delirium prevalence, risk factors, and management in general medical and ICU settings.
  • Analysis of the implications of sedation as a modifiable risk factor.
  • Evaluation of the applicability of non-ICU delirium prevention strategies to critically ill populations.

Main Results:

  • Delirium is highly prevalent in ICU patients, associated with severe negative outcomes.
  • Sedation management is a critical factor in delirium prevention.
  • Multicomponent interventions, proven effective in non-ICU settings, show promise for ICU adaptation.

Conclusions:

  • Delirium prevention in the ICU is crucial due to its significant negative impact on patient outcomes.
  • Further research is warranted to develop and evaluate targeted interventions for delirium prevention specifically within the ICU setting.

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