Delirium News and Research

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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.

Multimodal non-invasive neurological monitoring reduces postoperative delirium in older cardiac patients

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at an increased risk of developing delirium and other changes in cognitive function in the days following surgery. However, new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting, found using monitors to track depth of anesthesia and oxygenation levels in older patients' brains during cardiac surgery significantly reduced their incidence of postoperative delirium and associated cognitive decline.

28 Oct 2015

Boehringer Ingelheim announces FDA approval of Praxbind (idarucizumab)

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval of Praxbind (idarucizumab). PRAXBIND is indicated for patients treated with Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate), when reversal of the anticoagulant effects of dabigatran is needed for emergency surgery/urgent procedures or in life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding.

16 Oct 2015

AGS releases updated, expanded Beers Criteria to improve medication use in older adults

The American Geriatrics Society today released its second updated and expanded Beers Criteria--lists of potentially inappropriate medications for older adults who are not receiving hospice or palliative care, and one of the most frequently cited reference tools in the field of geriatrics.

12 Oct 2015

Benzodiazepines heighten risks for dementia and death

Patients taking benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric conditions should consider transitioning to other therapies because of heightened risks for dementia and death, according to clinicians from the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists.

6 Oct 2015

Terminally ill patients with certain subtypes of delirium show higher probability of imminent death

In cancer patients nearing the end of life, certain subtypes of delirium—specifically, hypoactive and "mixed" delirium—are a strong indicator that death will come soon, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

24 Sep 2015

New method may help nurses and doctors quickly identify delirium in hospitalized older adults

Asking just two questions may be able to help nurses and doctors quickly and easily identify delirium in hospitalized older adults, according to health researchers.

16 Sep 2015

Special issue provides update on mental health diagnosis and treatment of older adults

The aging of the population, shifting diagnostic criteria, and new health care policy initiatives are some of the factors driving changes in mental health treatment for older Americans, according to the September special issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

10 Sep 2015

Research reveals why older adults who undergo general anesthesia experience postoperative delirium

Newly published research from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine explains why up to half of older adults who undergo general anesthesia develop postoperative delirium - the sudden onset of confusion, aggression or agitated behavior that could progress to dementia. The findings indicate that older patients who are undergoing surgery may benefit from a less-potent, slower-acting anesthetic.

26 Aug 2015

MGH papers reveal the way anesthetics affect brains of older patients and children

Recent Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigations into the neurobiology underlying the effects of general anesthesia have begun to reveal the ways different anesthetic agents alter specific aspects of the brain's electrical signals, reflected by EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures. While those studies have provided information that may lead to improved techniques for monitoring the consciousness of patients receiving general anesthesia, until now they have been conducted in relatively young adult patients.

14 Aug 2015

Rowan receives $2.55 million HRSA grant to create New Jersey Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program

Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine has received a three-year, $2.55 million dollar grant from the Health Resources Services Administration to establish the New Jersey Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (NJGWEP).

28 Jul 2015

Inflammation plays role in onset of delirium in older adults

Delirium is an acute state of confusion that often affects older adults following surgery or serious illness. Now a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center confirms that inflammation - an immune response that develops when the body attempts to protect itself from harmful stimuli -- plays a role in the onset of delirium.

28 Jul 2015

Researchers identify barriers and possible catalysts to delirium detection in emergency department

An estimated one to two million older adults with delirium visit hospital emergency departments in the United States annually. Yet about two-thirds of the cases of this sudden and potentially lethal change in mental status are unrecognized by emergency department clinicians who are under time pressure and almost always managing multiple patients at once.

24 Jul 2015

SLU researcher awarded NIH's Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award to solve pain-killer problem

SLU pain researcher Daniela Salvemini has been awarded the NIH's Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award (CEBRA) to solve an alarming problem: pain killers that are capable of quelling terrible pain also carry debilitating side effects and significant risk of addiction.

16 Jul 2015

Envarsus XR receives FDA approval for treatment of kidney transplant recipients

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Envarsus XR (tacrolimus extended-release tablets) for the prophylaxis of rejection in kidney transplant patients who require or desire conversion from other twice-daily tacrolimus products to once-daily Envarsus XR.

11 Jul 2015

Hospital-wide clinical improvement initiative for patients at risk for DASH reduces readmission rates

Brigham and Women's Hospital finds that developing and implementing an interdisciplinary care improvement initiative improves outcomes.

1 Jul 2015

Delirium in ICU associated with lengthier hospital stays and greater risk of death

About one-third of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) will develop delirium, a condition that lengthens hospital stays and substantially increases one's risk of dying in the hospital, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers appearing in the British Medical Journal.

4 Jun 2015

One-quarter of Americans over age 65 at risk to become elder orphans

With an aging Baby Boomer population and increasing numbers of childless and unmarried seniors, nearly one-quarter of Americans over age 65 are currently or at risk to become "elder orphans," a vulnerable group requiring greater awareness and advocacy efforts, according to new research by a North Shore-LIJ geriatrician and palliative care physician.

18 May 2015

Patients with traumatic brain injuries need effective cognitive neuroscience-based therapies

Patients with traumatic brain injuries are not benefiting from recent advances in cognitive neuroscience research - and they should be, scientists report in a special issue of Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.

30 Apr 2015

Understanding how nerve cells in the brain produce energy required to function

New research published today in the journal Nature Communications represents a potentially fundamental shift in our understanding of how nerve cells in the brain generate the energy needed to function. The study shows neurons are more independent than previously believed and this research has implications for a range of neurological disorders.

25 Apr 2015

French clinicians diagnose first case of rabies since 2003

A team of French clinicians has diagnosed the first case of rabies in that country since 2003. Only 20 cases of human rabies had been diagnosed in France between 1970 and 2003. Moreover, the patient was unaware of having been bitten.

22 Apr 2015