Delirium News and Research RSS Feed - Delirium News and Research

Delirium is a mental state in which a person is confused, disoriented, and not able to think or remember clearly. The person may also be agitated and have hallucinations, and extreme excitement.
New research suggests that listening to music lowers anxiety, sedation in ventilated patients

New research suggests that listening to music lowers anxiety, sedation in ventilated patients

New research suggests that for some hospitalized ICU patients on mechanical ventilators, using headphones to listen to their favorite types of music could lower anxiety and reduce their need for sedative medications. [More]
AACN selects seven Pennsylvania hospitals to participate in nurse leadership training program

AACN selects seven Pennsylvania hospitals to participate in nurse leadership training program

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses selects seven Pennsylvania hospitals as the newest participants in its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program. [More]
Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Study suggests more accurate way to monitor patient awareness during general anesthesia

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have identified specific EEG signatures that indicate when patients lose and regain consciousness under the general anesthetic drug propofol. [More]
One in three ventilated people with ALI shows substantial PTSD symptoms

One in three ventilated people with ALI shows substantial PTSD symptoms

One in three people who survived stays in an intensive care unit (ICU) and required use of a mechanical ventilator showed substantial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms that lasted for up to two years, according to a new Johns Hopkins study of patients with acute lung injury. [More]

Simple interventions could reduce delirium and improve patient perceptions about sleep quality

A hospital is not the best place to get a good night's sleep, especially in a noisy intensive care unit. It's a cause for concern because studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cause patients to experience delirium-an altered mental state that may delay their recovery and lead to short and long-term confusion and memory problems. [More]
Delirium overlooked in hospital patients

Delirium overlooked in hospital patients

Delirium occurs in about one in five inpatients, but appears to be a low priority with hospital staff, research suggests. [More]
AACN expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program

AACN expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program to a fourth region with the addition of eight Austin-area hospitals. [More]
Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia. [More]

Survey identifies career burnout as significant problem among hospital-based neurologists

A survey has identified career burnout as a significant problem among neurologists who predominantly work with hospital inpatients. [More]
Contact precautions reduce number of visits by healthcare workers and outside visitors

Contact precautions reduce number of visits by healthcare workers and outside visitors

The prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) can help reduce patient morbidity and mortality, but a common prevention effort for patients with hard to treat infections known as contact precautions, can have positive and negative impacts on patient care. [More]
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore announces opening of new geriatric surgery center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore announces opening of new geriatric surgery center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a LifeBridge Health center, is proud to announce the opening of the Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery, the nation's first surgical center dedicated exclusively to providing specialized surgical and pre and postoperative care for elderly patients. [More]

Delirium associated with higher mortality rates

A new meta-analysis has found that delirium, a condition developed by many patients in hospital intensive care units (ICU), is associated with higher mortality rates, more complications, longer stays in the ICU, and longer hospitalizations. [More]
Inpatients falling under the effects of hypnotic agent

Inpatients falling under the effects of hypnotic agent

Hospital patients taking the commonly prescribed hypnotic agent zolpidem are at an increased risk for falls, which in turn significantly increase morbidity and healthcare costs, say US researchers. [More]
Metabolomics clue to postoperative delirium

Metabolomics clue to postoperative delirium

The choice of general anesthetic in children influences their cerebral metabolism, which in turn affects their risk for postoperative delirium, an imaging study shows. [More]

Geriatric team improves outcomes in elderly emergency department patients

Collaboration between trauma and geriatric specialists can improve outcomes for elderly patients admitted to the emergency department, indicate Canadian study findings. [More]

Zolpidem associated with increased risk of falls

A drug commonly prescribed to help patients sleep in hospitals has been associated with an increased risk of falls, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. [More]
Anesthetic choice may not be critical in noncardiac surgery

Anesthetic choice may not be critical in noncardiac surgery

The choice of general anesthetic does not appear to influence the risk for myocardial infarction in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery, report researchers. [More]
Geriatric Trauma Consultation Service reduces risk of delirium in elderly patients

Geriatric Trauma Consultation Service reduces risk of delirium in elderly patients

A first-of-its-kind program at St. Michael's Hospital lowers risk of delirium in elderly patients admitted for trauma and decreases the likelihood they will be discharged to a long-term care facility. [More]

Sedation interruption does not reduce mechanical ventilation duration

Daily sedative interruption of mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units does not reduce the time they are on ventilation or improve their clinical outcomes, report researchers in JAMA. [More]
Researchers find that children's brains are more affected by inhaled anesthetic

Researchers find that children's brains are more affected by inhaled anesthetic

Stony Brook University School of Medicine researchers have found that children's brains are more affected by an inhaled anesthetic than an intravenous anesthetic with increased levels of brain lactate. [More]