Incidence of delirium in three critical care units of a teaching hospital in Brazil
2011

Incidence of Delirium in Critical Care Units

Sample size: 42 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Okada APN, Azevedo RP, Machado FR

Primary Institution: Universidade Federal de São Paulo

Hypothesis

What is the incidence of delirium in patients admitted to three intensive care units of a teaching hospital?

Conclusion

Delirium is a common disorder in ICUs, and specific tests should be used regularly for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Supporting Evidence

  • The incidence of delirium was found to be 21.4% among the patients studied.
  • 88.9% of patients developed delirium within the first 5 days in the ICU.
  • Patients with delirium had a longer average stay in the ICU compared to those without.

Takeaway

Delirium is when patients get confused in the hospital, and it happens a lot in intensive care units. Doctors need to check for it more often.

Methodology

Patients were evaluated daily using the CAM-ICU tool, and the study assessed the correlation of clinical suspicion with the CAM-ICU diagnosis.

Potential Biases

Potential bias in clinical diagnosis by attending physicians, medical residents, and nurses.

Limitations

The study was limited to three ICUs and a relatively small sample size.

Participant Demographics

Patients admitted to three intensive care units in a teaching hospital in Brazil.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.0821

Confidence Interval

Not provided

Statistical Significance

p=0.0821

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/cc10197

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