Discharge Plans for Geriatric Inpatients with Delirium: A Plan to Stop Antipsychotics?

Initiation and Persistence of Antipsychotic Medications at Hospital Discharge Among Community-Dwelling Veterans With Dementia

OBJECTIVES

Adults with dementia are frequently prescribed antipsychotic medications despite concerns that risks outweigh benefits. Understanding conditions where antipsychotics are initially prescribed, such as hospitalization, may offer insights into reducing inappropriate use.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS

Retrospective cohort study of community-dwelling veterans with dementia aged ≥68 with VA hospitalizations in 2014, using Veterans Health Administration (VA) and Medicare data.

MEASUREMENTS

The primary outcome was new outpatient antipsychotic prescription at hospital discharge. We used generalized estimating equations to study associations between antipsychotic initiation and patient, hospitalization, and facility characteristics. Among veterans with antipsychotic initiation, we used a cumulative incidence function to evaluate discontinuation in the year following hospitalization, accounting for competing risks.

RESULTS

4,719 community-dwelling veterans with dementia had VA hospitalizations in 2014; 264 (5.6%) filled new antipsychotic prescriptions at discharge. Antipsychotic initiation was associated with discharge unit (surgical vs medical, OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19-0.87; psychiatric vs medical, OR 6.58, 95% CI 4.48-9.67), length of stay (OR 1.03/day, 95% CI 1.02-1.05), and delirium diagnosis (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.78-3.83), but not demographic or facility characteristics. Among veterans with antipsychotic initiation, the 1-year cumulative incidence of discontinuation was 18.2% (n = 47); 15.9% (n = 42) of those who were alive and not censored remained on antipsychotics at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS

Antipsychotic initiation at hospital discharge was uncommon among community-dwelling veterans with dementia; however, once initiated, antipsychotic persistence at 1 year was common among those who remained community-dwelling. Hospitalization is a contributor to potentially-inappropriate medications in the community, suggesting an opportunity for medication review after hospitalization.

Factors influencing central nervous system medication deprescribing and behavior change in hospitalized older adults

BACKGROUND

Central nervous system (CNS) medications are linked to higher morbidity and mortality in older adults. Hospitalization allows for deprescribing opportunities. This qualitative study investigates clinician and patient perspectives on CNS medication deprescribing during hospitalization using a behavioral change framework, aiming to inform interventions and identify recommendations to enhance hospital deprescribing processes.

METHODS

This qualitative study focused on hospitalists, primary care providers, pharmacists, and patients aged ≥60 years hospitalized on a general medicine service and prescribed ≥1 CNS medications. Using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, we aimed to evaluate patient medication knowledge, prior deprescribing experiences, and decision-making preferences, as well as provider processes and tools for medication evaluation and deprescribing. Rapid qualitative analysis applying the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) framework revealed themes influencing deprescribing behavior in patients and providers.

RESULTS

A total of 52 participants (20 patients and 32 providers) identified facilitators and barriers across deprescribing steps and generated recommended strategies to address them. Clinicians and patients highlighted the opportunity for CNS medication deprescribing during hospitalizations, facilitated by multidisciplinary teams enhancing clinicians' capability to make medication changes. Both groups also stressed the importance of intensive patient engagement, education, and monitoring during hospitalizations, acknowledging challenges in timing and extent of deprescribing, with some patients preferring decisions deferred to outpatient clinicians. Hospitalist and pharmacist recommendations centered on early pharmacist involvement for medication reconciliation, expanding pharmacy consultation and clinician education on deprescribing, whereas patients recommended enhancing shared decision-making through patient education on medication adverse effects, tapering plans, and alternatives. Hospitalists and PCPs also emphasized standardized discharge instructions and transitional care calls to improve medication review and feedback during care transitions.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians and patients highlighted the potential advantages of hospital interventions for CNS medication deprescribing, emphasizing the necessity of addressing communication, education, and coordination challenges between inpatient and outpatient settings.

Central nervous system medication use around hospitalization

BACKGROUND

Central nervous system (CNS) medication use is common among older adults, yet the impact of hospitalizations on use remains unclear. This study details CNS medication use, discontinuations, and user profiles during hospitalization periods.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study using electronic health records on patients ≥65 years, from three hospitals (2018-2020), and prescribed a CNS medication around hospitalization (90 days prior to 90 days after). Latent class transitions analysis (LCTA) examined profiles of CNS medication class users across four time points (90 days prior, admission, discharge, 90 days after hospitalization).

RESULTS

Among 4666 patients (mean age 74.3 ± 9.3 years; 63% female; 70% White; mean length of stay 4.6 ± 5.6 days (median 3.0 [2.0, 6.0]), the most commonly prescribed CNS medications were antidepressants (56%) and opioids (49%). Overall, 74% (n = 3446) of patients were persistent users of a CNS medication across all four time points; 7% (n = 388) had discontinuations during hospitalization, but of these, 64% (216/388) had new starts or restarts within 90 days after hospitalization. LCTA identified three profile groups: (1) low CNS medication users, 54%-60% of patients; (2) mental health medication users, 30%-36%; and (3) acute/chronic pain medication users, 9%-10%. Probability of staying in same group across the four time points was high (0.88-1.00). Transitioning to the low CNS medication use group was highest from admission to discharge (probability of 9% for pain medication users, 5% for mental health medication users). Female gender increased (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.3), while chronic kidney disease lowered (OR 0.5, 0.2-0.9) the odds of transitioning to the low CNS medication use profile between admission and discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

CNS medication use stays consistent around hospitalization, with discontinuation more likely between admission and discharge, especially among pain medication users. Further research on patient outcomes is needed to understand the benefits and harms of hospital deprescribing, particularly for medications requiring gradual tapering.

Evaluation of the Effect of a Safe Medication Strategy on Potentially Inappropriate Medications, Polypharmacy and Anticholinergic Burden for People with Dementia: An Intervention Study

People with dementia (PWD) are at risk for medication-related harm due to their impaired cognition and frequently being prescribed many medications. This study evaluated a medication safety intervention (including pharmacist medication reconciliation and review) for PWD during an unplanned admission to hospital. This article reports the effect of the intervention on polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), and anticholinergic burden scores for PWD. A pre-post design using an intervention site and a control site was conducted in 2017-2019, in a regional area in New South Wales, Australia. Polypharmacy, PIMs, and anticholinergic burden were measured at admission, discharge, and three months after discharge. There were 628 participants including 289 at the control site and 339 at the intervention site. Polypharmacy was 95% at admission and 90% at discharge. PIMs at admission were 95-98% across timepoints and decreased significantly at discharge. The mean anticholinergic score decreased significantly between admission (2.40-3.15) and discharge (2.01-2.57). Reduced PIMs at discharge were correlated with reduced anticholinergic burden (rho = 0.48-0.55, p < 0.001). No significant differences were identified between the study and control sites for Polypharmacy, PIMs, and anticholinergic burden rates and scores. High rates of polypharmacy and PIMs in this study indicate a study population with multiple comorbidities. This intervention was feasible to implement but was limited due to difficulty recruiting participants and deaths during the study. Future multisite studies should be designed to recruit larger study samples to evaluate interventions for improving medication safety for PWD and improve outcomes for these vulnerable people.

Delirium prevention and management in hospitalized older adults

ABSTRACT

Delirium is a common neurocognitive disorder among hospitalized older adults, and it can have devastating effects. The purpose of this article is to inform NPs in the hospital setting to recognize, prevent, and manage delirium in older adults. The roles of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions are described.

New psychotropic medication use among Medicare beneficiaries with dementia after hospital discharge

BACKGROUND

Hospitalizations among people with dementia (PWD) may precipitate behavioral changes, leading to the psychotropic medication use despite adverse outcomes and limited efficacy. We sought to determine the incidence of new psychotropic medication use among community-dwelling PWD after hospital discharge and, among new users, the proportion with prolonged use.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study using a 20% random sample of Medicare claims in 2017, including hospitalized PWD with traditional and Part D Medicare who were 68 years or older. The primary outcome was incident prescribing at discharge of psychotropics including antipsychotics, sedative-hypnotics, antiepileptics, and antidepressants. This was defined as new prescription fills (i.e., from classes not used in 180 days preadmission) within 7 days of hospital or skilled nursing facility discharge. Prolonged use was defined as the proportion of new users who continued to fill newly prescribed medications beyond 90 days of discharge.

RESULTS

The cohort included 117,022 hospitalized PWD with a mean age of 81 years; 63% were female. Preadmission, 63% were using at least 1 psychotropic medication; 10% were using medications from ≥3 psychotropic classes. These included antidepressants (44% preadmission), antiepileptics (29%), sedative-hypnotics (21%), and antipsychotics (11%). The proportion of PWD discharged from the hospital with new psychotropics ranged from 1.9% (antipsychotics) to 2.9% (antiepileptics); 6.6% had at least one new class started. Among new users, prolonged use ranged from 36% (sedative-hypnotics) to 63% (antidepressants); across drug classes, prolonged use occurred in 51%. Predictors of newly initiated psychotropics included length of stay (≥median vs.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitalized PWD have a high prevalence of preadmission psychotropic medication use; against this baseline, discharge from the hospital with new psychotropics is relatively uncommon. Nevertheless, prolonged use of newly initiated psychotropics occurs in a substantial proportion of this population.

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Key Words

• dementia
• hospitalization
• prescribing
• psychotropics

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MESH Headings

• Humans
• Female
• Aged
• United States
• Aged, 80 and over
• Male
• Patient Discharge
• Retrospective Studies
• Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use
• Dementia/drug therapy
• Medicare
• Psychotropic Drugs/therapeutic use
• Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use
• Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use
• Hospitals
• Hypnotics and Sedatives/therapeutic use

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Grants

• K12 HS026383 AHRQ HHS
• L30 AG074160 NIA NIH HHS
• R24 AG064025 NIA NIH HHS
• K24 AG049057 NIA NIH HHS
• R35 AG071916 NIA NIH HHS
• R03 AG064373 NIA NIH HHS
• T32 AG000212 NIA NIH HHS
• P01 AG066605 NIA NIH HHS
• K01 AG073532 NIA NIH HHS
• P30 AG044281 NIA NIH HHS
• R03 AG078804 NIA NIH HHS

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Affiliation(s)

Matthew E Growdon Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Geriatrics, Palliative, and Extended Care Service Line, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA
Siqi Gan Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Northern California Institute for Research and Education, San Francisco, California, USA
Kristine Yaffe Mental Health, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
Alexandra K Lee Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Geriatrics, Palliative, and Extended Care Service Line, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA
Timothy S Anderson Division of General Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ulrike Muench Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
W John Boscardin Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
Michael A Steinman Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Geriatrics, Palliative, and Extended Care Service Line, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA

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Antipsychotic Medication Use Among Older Adults Following Infection-Related Hospitalization

Importance

There are limited data on discontinuation rates of antipsychotic medications (APMs) used to treat delirium due to acute hospitalization in the routine care of older adults.

Objective

To investigate discontinuation rates and patient characteristics of APMs used to treat delirium following infection-related hospitalization among older US adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective cohort study was conducted using US claims data (Optum's deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart database) for January 1, 2004, to May 31, 2022. Patients were aged 65 years or older without prior psychiatric disorders and had newly initiated an APM prescription within 30 days of an infection-related hospitalization. Statistical analysis was performed on December 15, 2022.

Exposures

New use (no prior use any time before cohort entry) of oral haloperidol and atypical APMs (aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, etc).

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was APM discontinuation, defined as a gap of more than 15 days following the end of an APM dispensing. Survival analyses and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used.

Results

Our study population included 5835 patients. Of these individuals, 790 (13.5%) were new haloperidol users (mean [SD] age, 81.5 [6.7] years; 422 women [53.4%]) and 5045 (86.5%) were new atypical APM users (mean [SD] age, 79.8 [7.0] years; 2636 women [52.2%]). The cumulative incidence of discontinuation by 30 days after initiation was 11.4% (95% CI, 10.4%-12.3%) among atypical APM users and 52.1% (95% CI, 48.2%-55.7%) among haloperidol users (P < .001 for difference between haloperidol vs atypical APMs). We observed an increasing trend in discontinuation rates from 2004 to 2022 (5% increase [95% CI, 3%-7%] per year) for haloperidol users (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.05 [1.03-1.07]; P < .001) but not for atypical APM users (1.00 [0.99-1.01]; P = .67). Prolonged hospitalization and dementia were inversely associated with the discontinuation of haloperidol and atypical APMs.

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this cohort study suggest that the discontinuation rate of newly initiated APMs for delirium following infection-related hospitalization was lower in atypical APM users than in haloperidol users, with prolonged hospitalization and dementia as major associated variables. The discontinuation rate was substantially higher in recent years for haloperidol but not for atypical APMs.

New Antipsychotic Prescribing Continued into Skilled Nursing Facilities Following a Heart Failure Hospitalization: a Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Multimorbidity and polypharmacy are common among individuals hospitalized for heart failure (HF). Initiating high-risk medications such as antipsychotics may increase the risk of poor clinical outcomes, especially if these medications are continued unnecessarily into skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) after hospital discharge.

OBJECTIVE

Examine how often older adults hospitalized with HF were initiated on antipsychotics and characteristics associated with antipsychotic continuation into SNFs after hospital discharge.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

PARTICIPANTS

Veterans without prior outpatient antipsychotic use, who were hospitalized with HF between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2015, and were subsequently discharged to a SNF.

MAIN MEASURES

Demographics, clinical conditions, prior healthcare utilization, and antipsychotic use data were ascertained from Veterans Administration records, Minimum Data Set assessments, and Medicare claims. The outcome of interest was continuation of antipsychotics into SNFs after hospital discharge.

KEY RESULTS

Among 18,008 Veterans, antipsychotics were newly prescribed for 1931 (10.7%) Veterans during the index hospitalization. Among new antipsychotic users, 415 (21.5%) continued antipsychotics in skilled nursing facilities after discharge. Dementia (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.48, 95% CI 1.11-1.98), psychosis (aOR 1.62, 95% CI 1.11-2.38), proportion of inpatient days with antipsychotic use (aOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07-1.09, per 10% increase), inpatient use of only typical (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.30-0.72) or parenteral antipsychotics (aOR 0.39, 95% CI 0.20-0.78), and the day of hospital admission that antipsychotics were started (day 0-4 aOR 0.36, 95% CI 0.23-0.56; day 5-7 aOR 0.54, 95% CI 0.35-0.84 (reference: day > 7 of hospital admission)) were significant predictors of continuing antipsychotics into SNFs after hospital discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

Antipsychotics are initiated fairly often during HF admissions and are commonly continued into SNFs after discharge. Hospital providers should review antipsychotic indications and doses throughout admission and communicate a clear plan to SNFs if antipsychotics are continued after discharge.

The frequency and quality of delirium documentation in discharge summaries

BACKGROUND

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends documenting all delirium episodes in the discharge summary using the term "delirium". Previous studies demonstrate poor delirium documentation rates in discharge summaries and no studies have assessed delirium documentation quality. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and quality of delirium documentation in discharge summaries and explore differences between medical and surgical services.

METHODS

This was a multi-center retrospective chart review. We included 110 patients aged ≥ 65 years identified to have delirium during their hospitalization using the Chart-based Delirium Identification Instrument (CHART-DEL). We assessed the frequency of any delirium documentation in discharge summaries, and more specifically, for the term "delirium". We evaluated the quality of delirium discharge documentation using the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's framework for quality discharge summaries. Comparisons were made between medical and surgical services. Secondary outcomes included assessing factors influencing the frequency of "delirium" being documented in the discharge summary.

RESULTS

We identified 110 patients with sufficient chart documentation to identify delirium and 80.9 % of patients had delirium documented in their discharge summary ("delirium" or other acceptable term). The specific term "delirium" was reported in 63.6 % of all delirious patients and more often by surgical than medical specialties (76.5 % vs. 52.5 %, p = 0.02). Documentation quality was significantly lower by surgical specialties in reporting delirium as a diagnosis (23.5 % vs. 57.6 %, p < 0.001), documenting delirium workup (23.4 % vs. 57.6 %, p = 0.001), etiology (43.3 % vs. 70.4 %, p = 0.03), treatment (36.7 % vs. 66.7 %, p = 0.02), medication changes (44.4 % vs. 100 %, p = 0.002) and follow-up (36.4 % vs. 88.2 %, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of delirium documentation is higher than previously reported but remains subpar. Medical services document delirium with higher quality, but surgical specialties document the term "delirium" more frequently. The documentation of delirium in discharge summaries must improve to meet quality standards.

Drug-related problems of antipsychotics in treating delirium among elderly patients: A real-world observational study

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Delirium is more common and life-threatening among the elderly. Currently, no other medications, including antipsychotics, have been approved for delirium. The number of practice guidelines recommends antipsychotics to be the first option among selected patients. This study aimed to identify the type of drug-related problems (DRPs) concerning antipsychotics use among elderly patients with delirium.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study was conducted by collecting data from 2013 to 2016 in Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Thailand. Inpatients who were 60 years and over, diagnosed with delirium by ICD-10 diseases coding F05.X and treated with antipsychotics for delirium were included. A modified version of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists classification criteria (mASHP-delirium) was used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A total of 379 patients were enrolled. Mean daily dose of haloperidol (oral) was 1.06 ± 1.33 mg, haloperidol (intramuscular) 2.71 ± 1.88 mg, haloperidol (intravenous; IV) 3.42 ± 1.97 mg, risperidone was 0.71 ± 0.52 mg, and quetiapine was 19.26 ± 15.63 mg. Among all, 427 events were classified as DRPs. The most common DRPs included inappropriate duration, dose, route of administration or dosage form accounting for the 416 events (97.4%), followed by actual adverse drug reactions (extrapyramidal symptoms; EPS), 6 events (1.4%) and potential drug-drug interactions for 5 events (1.2%). Of those 416 events, 200 events (48.1%) antipsychotics were continued after discharge and continued for more than 10 days. Dosage exceeding initial dose or maximum daily dose accounted for 179 events (43.0%). Other DRPs such as inappropriate route haloperidol IV and receiving the extended-release dosage form of quetiapine involve 26 (6.3%) and 11 (2.6%) events, respectively.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using mASHP-delirium to identify DRPs of antipsychotics in treating delirium among elderly patients. Several DRPs were found that might lead to severe adverse drug reactions, particularly EPS and QTc interval prolongation. However, all DRPs could be prevented by developing antipsychotic setting protocols and specialty consulting systems to communicate among healthcare providers caring for vulnerable groups of patients. In addition, a prospective pharmacist intervention is required.

Approaches to Addressing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome among Intensive Care Unit Survivors. A Narrative Review

Critical illness can be lethal and devastating to survivors. Improvements in acute care have increased the number of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. These survivors confront a range of new or worsened health states that collectively are commonly denominated post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). These problems include physical, cognitive, psychological, and existential aspects, among others. Burgeoning interest in improving long-term outcomes for ICU survivors has driven an array of potential interventions to improve outcomes associated with PICS. To date, the most promising interventions appear to relate to very early physical rehabilitation. Late interventions within aftercare and recovery clinics have yielded mixed results, although experience in heart failure programs suggests the possibility that very early case management interventions may help improve intermediate-term outcomes, including mortality and hospital readmission. Predictive models have tended to underperform, complicating study design and clinical referral. The complexity of the health states associated with PICS suggests that careful and rigorous evaluation of multidisciplinary, multimodality interventions-tied to the specific conditions of interest-will be required to address these important problems.

Initiation of Psycholeptic Medication During Hospitalization With Recommendation for Discontinuation After Discharge

OBJECTIVES

Psycholeptic drugs have been used in the older population for years, especially to control delirium and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of dementia. However, data from the literature confirm that the prolonged use of psycholeptics may be responsible for adverse reactions in older patients. The aim of this study was (1) to identify how many patients receive the first prescription of a psycholeptic drug during the hospital stay; (2) to evaluate the main sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of these patients; and (3) to verify if the prescribed psycholeptic drugs are continued after 3 months from the hospital discharge.

DESIGN

Our retrospective study was based on data from the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapie SIMI) registry, a cohort of older patients hospitalized in internal medicine and geriatric wards throughout Italy from 2010 to 2018.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Patients aged 65 years or older who were not on home therapy with psycholeptic drugs were considered in the analyses.

METHODS

We did both univariate and multivariate analyses in order to find the variables associated independently to an increased risk for first psycholeptic prescription at hospital discharge.

RESULTS

At hospital discharge, 193 patients (5.8%) out of a total sample of 3322 patients were prescribed at least 1 psycholeptic drug. Cognitive impairment was the main risk factor for the introduction of psycholeptic drugs at discharge. Among them, 89.1% were still on therapy with a psycholeptic drug after 3 months from the hospital discharge.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Cognitive impairment represents the main risk factor for psycholeptic initiation in hospitalized older patients. The vast majority of these treatments are chronically continued after the discharge. Therefore, special attention is needed in prescribing psycholeptics at discharge, because their prolonged use may lead to cognitive decline. Moreover, their continued use should be questioned by physicians providing post-acute care, and deprescribing should be considered.

Delirium in hospitalized older adults

Delirium is a common and underdiagnosed problem in hospitalized older adults. It is associated with an increased risk of poor cognitive and functional outcomes, institutionalization, and death. Timely diagnosis of delirium and non-pharmacological prevention and management strategies can improve patient outcomes. The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is the most widely used clinical assessment tool for the diagnosis of delirium. Multiple variations of the CAM have been developed for ease of administration and for the unique needs of specific patient populations, including the 3-min diagnostic CAM (3D CAM), CAM-Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU), Delirium Triage Screen (DTS)/Brief CAM (b-CAM), 4AT tool, and ultrabrief delirium assessment. Strong evidence supports the effectiveness of nonpharmacologic strategies as the primary intervention for the prevention of delirium. Multicomponent delirium prevention strategies can reduce the incidence of delirium by 40%. Investigation of underlying medical precipitants and optimization of non-pharmacological interventions are first line in the management of delirium. Despite a lack of evidence supporting use of antipsychotics, low dose antipsychotics remain second line for off-label treatment of distressing psychoses and/or agitated behaviors that are refractory to non-pharmacological behavioral interventions and pose an imminent risk of harm to self or others. Any antipsychotic prescription for delirium should be accompanied by an appropriate taper plan. Follow up with primary care providers on discharge from hospital for ongoing screening of cognitive impairment is important.

Management of delirium at an academic medical center: Plans for antipsychotic prescribing upon discharge

Introduction

Delirium is an acute, fluctuating change in mental status, often associated with behavioral manifestations such as agitation. Literature suggests that many patients who continue on antipsychotics for extended management of delirium are not provided instructions for discontinuation. However, there is a positive correlation between consult services and instructions for discontinuation. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency at which patients with delirium were prescribed an antipsychotic at hospital discharge and to characterize discharge antipsychotic prescribing for psychiatric consult and nonconsult cohorts.

Methods

This study was a retrospective chart review of adult patients with an International Classification of Diseases 10th revision code of delirium who received at least 1 dose of antipsychotic during their admission. Inclusion criteria were all patients aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of or relating to delirium who were administered antipsychotics during their admission.

Results

A total of 152 patients were included, of which 43 received a psychiatric consult. Antipsychotics were prescribed at discharge for management of delirium for 52 (34.2%) of 152 total patients. More patients in the psychiatric consult cohort were discharged with an antipsychotic as compared to those in the nonconsult cohort (53.3% vs 26.6%, P =  .02).

Discussion

Compared to previous studies, patients in this retrospective review were more likely to be discharged on an antipsychotic that was initiated during admission for management of delirium. Findings from this study also align with prior research demonstrating a positive association between antipsychotic discharge instructions and specialty consult recommendations.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Postoperative Delirium in Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

The present study aims to investigate the incidence and risk factors associated with postoperative delirium in patients undergoing spine surgery.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Science Citation Index were searched up to August 2019 for studies examining postoperative delirium following spine surgery. Incidence and risk factors associated with delirium were extracted. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for outcomes. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used for the study quality evaluation.

Results

The final analysis includes a total of 40 studies. The pooled analysis reveals that incidence of delirium is 8%, and there are significant differences for developing delirium in age (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.04-1.09), age more than 65 (OR 4.77; 95% CI 4.37-5.16), age more than 70 (OR 15.87; 95% CI 6.03-41.73), and age more than 80 (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.78-2.03) years, male (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.76-0.86), a history of alcohol abuse (OR 2.11; 95% CI 1.67-2.56), anxiety (OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.04-2.44), congestive heart failure (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.21-1.6), depression (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.52-3.49), hypertension (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.04-1.2), kidney disease (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.16-1.66), neurological disorder (OR 4.66; 95% CI 4.22-5.11), opioid use (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.18-2.54), psychoses (OR 2.77; 95% CI 2.29-3.25), pulmonary disease (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.27-2.35), higher mini-mental state examination (OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.5-0.89), preoperative pain (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.11-2.64), and postoperative urinary tract infection (OR 5.68; 95% CI 2.41-13.39).

Conclusions

A comprehensive understanding of incidence and risk factors of delirium can improve prevention, diagnosis, and management. Risk of postoperative delirium can be reduced based upon identifiable risk factors.