Delirium in critical care: a study of incidence, prevalence, and associated factors in the tertiary care hospital of older Thai adults.

OBJECTIVES: Delirium is a common condition in older adults which can have devastating outcomes. The studies about delirium in intensive care units (ICU) are relatively rare compared to studies in the non-ICU setting. This study aimed to study the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of delirium among older Thai adults in ICU. METHOD: Participants were older patients who were admitted to the ICU of Srinagarind Medical School, KhonKaen, Thailand from May 2013 to August 2014. Baseline characteristics were collected. Delirium was rated by trained clinical researchers using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU). Demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analyses were used to analyze the outcomes. RESULTS: Delirium occurred in 44 of 99 patients (44.4%) with an incidence rate of 22.2% (22/99). The prevalence of delirium in mechanically ventilated patients was 62.5% (30/48). The majority of the patients had delirium within five days of ICU admission. Seven independent predisposing factors were identified using bivariate regressions: age, functional status, disease severity, having pneumonia, cognitive impairment, depression, or previous stroke. Numbers of additional drugs, bed changes, physical restraints, sleep deprivation, use of bladder catheters, and patients with mechanical ventilators were independent precipitating factors. For multivariate regressions, previous stroke, multiple bed changes, and physical restraints were the significant factors. CONCLUSION: The prevalence and incidence of delirium of older adults in the ICU setting in this study was high and comparable to prior studies. There are several significant risk factors associated with delirium which could be modified. These factors should be considered when designing effective preventive strategies of delirium.

Under-recognition of delirium in older adults by nurses in the intensive care unit setting.

BACKGROUND: Nurses have the key roles to detect delirium in hospitalized older patients but under-recognition of delirium among nurses is prevalent. The objectives of this study were to identify the under-recognition rate of delirium by intensive care nurses (ICU) using Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) and factors associated with under-recognition. METHODS: Participants were older patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to the ICU of Srinagarind Medical School, Khon Kaen, Thailand from May 2013 to August 2014. Baseline characteristics were collected. Delirium was rated by a trained clinical researcher using the CAM-ICU. Demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Univariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to analyze the outcomes. RESULTS: Delirium occurred in 44 of 99 patients (44.4 %). Nurses could not identify delirium in 29.6 % of patients compared with researchers. Pre-existing dementia and depression were found in 47.7 % of patients. Pneumonia or other causes of respiratory failure were the most common causes of admission to ICU (47.7 %). Independent factors associated with under-recognition by nurses were identified-heart failure [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 77.8; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 2.5-2,543, p = 0.01] and pre-existing taking treatment with benzodiazepines (adjusted OR, 22.6; 95 % CI 1.8-85, p = 0.01). DISCUSSION: Under-recognition of delirium is a frequent issue. New independent factors associated with under-recognition were identified. Awareness of delirium in the patients with these factors is recommended. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the finding of high under-recognition rates of delirium among hospitalized older adults in ICU. Patients with heart failure and receiving benzodiazepines were identified as barriers of recognition of delirium.