Developing Delirium in the ICU Linked to Fatal Outcomes

About one-third of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) will develop delirium, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, published in the British Medical Journal. Physicians and nurses working in intensive care have long been aware that a significant percentage of their patients will develop delirium. However, this study establishes the most definitive link between delirium in the ICU and poor outcomes. The interdisciplinary research team sifted through 10,000 published reports before selecting 42 studies that met their specific criteria, weeding out any studies that included patients with head injuries, strokes or other neurological disorders, in order to obtain a more precise estimate of delirium in ICU patients. Evaluating 16,595 patients, of which 5,280 — or 32 percent — had confirmed cases of delirium as measured by established screening protocols, the team conducted a meta-analysis, which found that delirium was associated with a two-fold increase in hospital mortality, even after adjusting for severity of illness. The review also showed that among patients who develop delirium, the risk of long-term cognitive decline increases by 20 to 30 percent. To learn more about this study, click here.