Diagnostic and treatment practices of delirium in a general hospital

Exploring Antipsychotic Use for Delirium Management in Adults in Hospital, Sub-Acute Rehabilitation and Aged Care Settings: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

International guidelines discourage antipsychotic use for delirium; however, concerns persist about their continued use in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to describe the prevalence and patterns of antipsychotic use in delirium management with regard to best-practice recommendations. Primary outcomes investigated were prevalence of use, antipsychotic type, dosage and clinical indication.

METHODS

Eligibility criteria: studies of any design that examined antipsychotic use to manage delirium in adults in critical care, acute care, palliative care, rehabilitation, and aged care were included. Studies of patients in acute psychiatric care, with psychiatric illness or pre-existing antipsychotic use were excluded.

INFORMATION SOURCES

we searched five health databases on 16 August, 2023 (PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, APA PsycInfo, ProQuest Health and Medical Collection) using MeSH terms and relevant keywords, including 'delirium' and 'antipsychotic'. Risk of bias: as no included studies were randomised controlled trials, all studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS

descriptive data were extracted in Covidence and synthesised in Microsoft Excel.

RESULTS

Included studies: 39 studies published between March 2004 and August 2023 from 13 countries (n = 1,359,519 patients). Most study designs were retrospective medical record audits (n = 16).

SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS

in 18 studies, participants' mean age was ≥65 years (77.79, ±5.20). Palliative care had the highest average proportion of patients with delirium managed with antipsychotics (70.87%, ±33.81%); it was lower and varied little between intensive care unit (53.53%, ±19.73%) and non-intensive care unit settings [medical, surgical and any acute care wards] (56.93%, ±26.44%) and was lowest in in-patient rehabilitation (17.8%). Seventeen different antipsychotics were reported on. In patients aged ≥65 years, haloperidol was the most frequently used and at higher than recommended mean daily doses (2.75 mg, ±2.21 mg). Other antipsychotics commonly administered were olanzapine (mean 11 mg, ±8.54 mg), quetiapine (mean 64.23 mg, ±43.20 mg) and risperidone (mean 0.97 mg, ±0.64 mg).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of antipsychotics to manage delirium is strongly discouraged in international guidelines. Antipsychotic use in delirium care is a risk for adverse health outcomes and a longer duration of delirium, especially in older people. However, this study has provided evidence that clinicians continue to use antipsychotics for delirium management, the dose, frequency and duration of which are often outside evidence-based guideline recommendations. Clinicians continue to choose antipsychotics to manage delirium symptoms to settle agitation and maintain patient and staff safety, particularly in situations where workload pressures are high. Sustained efforts are needed at the individual, team and organisational levels to educate, train and support clinicians to prioritise non-pharmacological interventions early before deciding to use antipsychotics. This could prevent delirium and avert escalation in behavioural symptoms that often lead to antipsychotic use.

Delirium in older adults

This narrative review provides a broad examination of the most current concepts on the etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of delirium, an acute neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by fluctuating changes in cognition and consciousness. With the interaction of underlying vulnerability and severity of acute insults, delirium can occur at any age but is particularly frequent in hospitalized older adults. Delirium is also associated with numerous adverse outcomes, including functional impairment, cognitive decline, increased healthcare costs, and death. Its diagnosis is based on clinical and cognitive assessments, preferably following systematized detection instruments, such as the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM). Delirium and its consequences are most effectively fought using multicomponent preventive interventions, like those proposed by the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP). When prevention fails, delirium management is primarily based on the identification and reversal of precipitating factors and the non-pharmacological control of delirium symptoms. Pharmacological interventions in delirium should be restricted to cases of dangerous agitation or severe psychotic symptoms.

Differential clinical characteristics, management and outcome of delirium among ward compared with intensive care unit patients

BACKGROUND

Delirium is common in hospitalised patients but its epidemiology remains poorly characterised.

AIMS

To test the hypothesis that patient demographics, clinical phenotype, management and outcomes of patient with delirium in hospital ward patients differ from intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort of patients admitted to an Australian university-affiliated hospital between March 2013 and April 2017 and coded for delirium at discharge using the International Classification of Diseases System, 10th revision, criteria.

RESULTS

Among 61 032 hospitalised patients, 2864 (4.7%) were coded for delirium. From these, we studied a random sample of 100 ward patients and 100 ICU patients. Ward patients were older (median age: 84 vs 65 years; P < 0.0001), more likely to have dementia (38% vs 2% for ICU patients; P < 0.0001) and less likely to have had surgery (24% vs 62%; P < 0.0001). Of ward patients, 74% had hypoactive delirium, while 64% of ICU patients had agitated delirium (P < 0.0001). Persistent delirium at hospital discharge was more common among ward patients (66% vs 17%, P < 0.0001). On multivariable analysis, age and dementia predicted persistent delirium, while surgery predicted recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Delirium in ward patients is profoundly different from delirium in ICU patients. It has a dominant hypoactive clinical phenotype, is preceded by dementia and is less likely to recover at hospital discharge. Therefore, delirium prevention, detection and goals of care should be adapted to the environment in which it occurs.

Detection and management of hyperactive and hypoactive delirium in older patients during hospitalization: a retrospective cohort study evaluating daily practice

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study are to study daily hospital practice regarding detection and management and to study hyperactive and hypoactive delirium of older patients during their hospitalization.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study evaluating care as usual for older hospitalized patients with delirium at Maastricht University Medical Center+, a university hospital in the Netherlands, was performed. Inclusion criteria were older hospitalized patients (65+ years), diagnosed with delirium between 1 January and 31 December 2014. Data were retrieved from the patients' medical files. Delirium was categorized as hyperactive or hypoactive. Primary outcome measures were prevalence and management (pharmacological, reorientation, screening for delirium and delirium consultations, and physical restraints). Secondary outcomes were short-term adverse outcomes.

RESULTS

Prevalence of delirium was 5% (N = 401), of which 77% (n = 307) was hyperactive and 23% (n = 94) was hypoactive. Significantly, more patients with a hyperactive delirium received medication to manage the delirium than patients with a hypoactive delirium (89% vs. 77%, respectively, p = 0.004). No other significant differences between the subtypes were found.

CONCLUSION

There was probably a strong under-recognition of delirium. Drugs were the main intervention of choice, especially for patients with hyperactive delirium. The two subtypes did not differ on non-pharmacological management. The retrospective nature of this study sheds light on the status quo of recognition, management, and care as usual for the different delirium subtypes in daily hospital practice, which may help in forming new guidelines and protocols for the detection and treatment of delirium for older patients in hospitals.

Can education improve clinical practice concerning delirium in older hospitalised patients? Results of a pre-test post-test study on an educational intervention for nursing staff

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a common and serious complication of hospitalisation in older adults. It can lead to prolonged hospital stay, institutionalisation, and even death. However, it often remains unrecognised or is not managed adequately. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention for nursing staff on three aspects of clinical practice concerning delirium in older hospitalised patients: the frequency and correctness of screening for delirium using the 13-item Delirium Observation Screening score (DOS), and the frequency of geriatric consultations requested for older patients. The a priori expectations were that there would be an increase in all three of these outcomes.

METHODS

We designed an educational intervention and implemented this on two inpatient hospital units. Before providing the educational session, the nursing staff was asked to fill out two questionnaires about delirium in older hospitalised patients. The educational session was then tailored to each unit based on the results of these questionnaires. Additionally, posters and flyers with information on the screening and management of delirium were provided and participants were shown where to find additional information. Relevant data (outcomes, demographics and background patient data) were collected retrospectively from digital medical files. Data was retrospectively collected for four different time points: three pre-test and one post-test.

RESULTS

There was a significant increase in frequency of delirium screening (P = 0.001), and both units showed an increase in the correctness of the screening. No significant effect of the educational intervention was found for the proportion of patients who received a geriatric consultation (P = 0.083).

CONCLUSION

The educational intervention was fairly successful in making positive changes in clinical practice: after the educational session an improvement in the frequency and correctness of screening for delirium was observed. A trend, though not significant, towards an increase in the proportion of geriatric consultations for older hospitalised patients was also observed.

Dexmedetomidine reduces postoperative delirium after joint replacement in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common and serious surgical complication among the elderly, especially in those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is neuroprotective for delirium. In this study, we determined the effect of intravenously administered DEX during general anesthesia on POD in elderly aMCI patients undergoing elective hip joint or knee joint or shoulder joint replacement surgery.

METHODS

This was a prospective, randomized parallel-group study of aMCI (n = 80) and normal elderly patients (n = 120). Prior to surgery, all subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment and were assigned to one of four groups: the aMCI DEX group (MD group, n = 40), the aMCI normal saline group (MN group, n = 40), the control DEX group (CD group, n = 60), and the control normal saline group (CN group, n = 60). The confusion assessment method was used to screen POD on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7.

RESULTS

We found patients age was positively correlated with POD incidence in the MN group (p < 0.05) but not in the CN group (p < 0.05). DEX treatment significantly decreased POD incidence in both control and aMCI groups relative to their respective placebo groups (all p < 0.05). The fraction of patients whose normal cognitive function was not restored by day 7 after surgery was significantly higher in the MN group than the MD and CN groups (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested that DEX treatment during surgery significantly reduced POD incidence in both normal and aMCI elderly patients, suggesting that it may be an effective option for the prevention of POD.