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.

Physiological changes, chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness during disasters

In a summer with unprecedented weather events, from tornados, floods, fires and hurricanes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that physiological changes associated with aging and the presence of chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness or injury, even death, during a disaster.

22 Oct 2011

PACBIS tool may help identify pre-surgical behaviors in parents, children

A clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 highlighted a behavioral assessment tool that may help anesthesia providers identify pre-surgical behaviors in parents and children that lead to maladaptive behaviors in children after surgery.

19 Oct 2011

Inhaled anesthetics do not increase incidence of postoperative delirium

A study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 in Chicago this week offered firm evidence that commonly used inhaled anesthetics such as isoflurane do not increase the incidence of postoperative delirium, which can affect how well some patients recover after surgery.

18 Oct 2011

Hospitalization for an acute event can lead to long-term institutionalization

Confirming many elderly patients' worst fears, a national study has shown that being hospitalized for an acute event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, can lead to long-term institutionalization in a nursing home. Equally alarming, researchers found that direct discharge to a skilled nursing facility -- a common practice designed to reduce hospital stays -- put patients at "extremely high risk" of needing long-term nursing home care.

4 Oct 2011

Methylphenidate drug may induce arousal from general anesthesia

Administration of the commonly used stimulant drug methylphenidate (Ritalin) was able to speed recovery from general anesthesia in an animal study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital.

22 Sep 2011

FDA approves Covidien's morphine sulfate oral solution for chronic pain in opioid-tolerant patients

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted approval to the company's Mallinckrodt business for morphine sulfate oral solution, used to relieve moderate to severe acute and chronic pain in opioid-tolerant patients. The solution will be available as a generic in 100 milligrams per 5 mL (20 milligrams per 1 mL).

1 Aug 2011

Current prevention strategies may not be very effective at reducing in-hospital falls

While falls are a common cause of injury, particularly in older, hospitalized patients, some may not be as preventable as once thought. According to a new literature review published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, many of the risks that frequently cause falls are not adequately addressed with the fall prevention initiatives used in healthcare facilities.

7 Jul 2011

Older adults with cognitive impairment need better healthcare in ED

More needs to be done to improve the care that older adults with cognitive impairment - including dementia and delirium - receive when they visit hospital emergency departments, according to a research review in the July issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

6 Jul 2011

New insights into 'sundowning' syndrome

New research provides the best evidence to date that the late-day anxiety and agitation sometimes seen in older institutionalized adults, especially those with dementia, has a biological basis in the brain.

28 Jun 2011

Twelve institutions receive NPCRC and American Cancer Society grants for palliative care research

The American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) are awarding $2 million in research grants to researchers at 12 institutions for studies aimed at reducing suffering for seriously ill patients and their family caregivers.

22 Jun 2011

Hospitals need to measure quality of care

Hospitals that provide quality care for young people do not always provide the same quality care for the elderly, a new study has found.

4 Jun 2011

NIH awards $2.4 million, five-year grant for research on dementia and delirium

Adults with dementia and delirium may soon have a way to combat their delirium, thanks to a $2.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

27 May 2011

Hartford credits NICHE with hospital's success in improving older patients' care

"On the Front Line of Change" was the theme of the 14th annual conference of NICHE, held last month in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference brought together hundreds of nurses, nursing administrators, educators and other healthcare professionals from across the US and Canada, whose shared passion and purpose is to improve the quality of care for hospitalized older adults.

2 May 2011

Baby doll can serve as effective therapy for geriatric patients

What parent hasn't watched their young child in amazement as they pick up a baby doll, tenderly cradling and stroking it as though the child were mimicking the way their own parent held them? As quintessential as these toys are for young children, research has found that baby dolls are also effective tools in soothing geriatric patients.

28 Apr 2011

Experts to showcase nursing education, practical innovations at Las Vegas national conference

Motivating and educating nurses to help them excel in their daily practice is the focus of this year's National Conference for Nurse Practitioners: The Conference for Primary and Acute Care Clinicians, May 11-14, 2011, at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, NV.

22 Mar 2011

Scant high-quality research on hospice care in nursing homes

A new evidence review finds that there's scant high-quality research on the best comprehensive strategies for nursing homes hoping to ease the suffering of older patients through hospice care.

18 Mar 2011

Researchers to share information on delirium at ADS conference

At least seven million hospitalized Americans suffer from delirium each year, however the condition goes unrecognized in more than 60 percent of patients. Even if diagnosed, there is no effective way to treat the condition, which is a growing concern to medical professionals.

25 Feb 2011

Failure to use research evidence leads to inefficiencies, reduced quality of life, says Dr. Sharon

Health care systems around the world are failing to use evidence obtained through research when making decisions, causing inefficiencies and reduced quantity and quality of life, according to a leading expert in the field of "knowledge translation."

20 Jan 2011

Neuroscientists say that general anesthesia is a reversible coma

The brain under general anesthesia isn't "asleep" as surgery patients are often told -- it is placed into a state that is a reversible coma, according to three neuroscientists who have published an extensive review of general anesthesia, sleep and coma, in the Dec. 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Dec 2010

New 5-minute Memory Orientation Screening Test to identify elderly patients with dementia

A new 5-minute test to identify elderly patients with dementia promises to give doctors a more sensitive tool to use in the Annual Wellness Examination. The Memory Orientation Screening Test (MOST™) developed by Mitchell Clionsky, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, and Emilymarie Clionsky, MD, an internist/psychiatrist, is based on their clinical experience with thousands of patients who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, which now afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

10 Dec 2010