Prevalence of Delirium in End-of-Life Palliative Care Patients: An Observational Study.
Med Princ Pract
; 31(2): 118-124, 2022.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35038708
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of delirium, using the Assessment Test for Delirium and Cognitive Impairment (4AT) in end-of-life palliative care patients. SUBJECTS ANDMETHODS:
This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on end-of-life patients in a hospice or at home. All patients were evaluated with the 4AT for the presence of delirium.RESULTS:
Of the 461 patients analyzed, 76 (16.5%) were inpatients and 83.5% (385) outpatients. The median age was 79.5 (72-86) years, and 51.0% were female. According to the 4AT score, 126 patients (27.3%) had delirium (A4T ≥4) at admission, 28 (36.8%) were inpatients, and 98 (25.5%) outpatients. Around 33.8% of the cancer inpatients had delirium, while 20.6% of the cancer outpatients had delirium. The prevalence of delirium varied according to the setting, clinical condition, and life expectancy. In addition, 55.0% (11) actively dying inpatients, within 3 days, had delirium, and 56.7% (17) outpatients had delirium; while among those with life expectancy longer than 4 days, 30.4% (17) inpatients and 22.8% (81) outpatients were with delirium.CONCLUSIONS:
Our study confirms that delirium is common in cancer and noncancer palliative care patients. Further research on delirium in end-of-life palliative care patients should consider the complexity of palliative care of this population as well as of the characteristics of the settings.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Delírio
/
Neoplasias
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Med Princ Pract
Assunto da revista:
EDUCACAO
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália