Economic Impact of Poststroke Delirium and Associated Risk Factors: Findings From a Prospective Cohort Study

Global prevalence and risk factors of delirium among patients following acute stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The exact prevalence and risk factors of delirium following stroke at an acute stage remains unclear. We aimed to determine the global prevalence and risk factors of delirium following acute stroke.

METHOD

Observational studies reporting the prevalence of or risk factors for delirium following acute stroke published in the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases before April 16, 2024, were identified. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers. A random effects model was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Our meta-analysis included 48 studies on prevalence and 25 studies on risk factors for poststroke delirium. The pooled global prevalence rate of delirium was 24 % (18 %-30 %). Hemorrhagic stroke type, early assessment (within 3 days of stroke onset), older age, and male sex were risk factors for poststroke delirium. Independent factors significantly associated with poststroke delirium (all p < 0.05) were age, dementia, prior stroke, prior total anterior circulation infarct stroke subtype, atrial fibrillation, elevated C-reactive protein levels, aphasia, poor vision, neglect, depression, and the use of urinary catheters and gastric tubes.

CONCLUSION

Approximately a quarter of the included patients with acute stroke experienced delirium. Our findings regarding the risk factors for poststroke delirium can provide an evidence-based approach for future strategies to prevent delirium.

FUNDINGS

NSTC, Taiwan (MOST 113-2628-B- 038-00-MY3 and 111-2314-B-038-033-MY3).

PROTOCOL

The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42024518119).

The associations of post-stroke delirium with outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Published data on whether post-stroke delirium (PSD) is an independent predictor of outcomes in patients with acute stroke are inconsistent and have not yet been synthesized and quantified via meta-analyses.

METHODS

This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The study protocol involved a search of the PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Medline databases from 1946 to November 1, 2023, of which prospective observational and case-control studies were included. The quality of the included studies was rated using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Pooled effect estimates calculated using a random-effects model were expressed as the odds ratios (ORs), hazard ratios (HRs), and standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023472551).

RESULTS

The search yielded 39 eligible articles comprising 3295 and 9643 patients with and without PSD, respectively. Thirty studies were high quality, while 9 had moderate quality. The primary analyses, adequately adjusting for predefined confounders, showed that PSD was significantly associated with mortality risk (average follow-up of 19.50 months; OR, 3.47; 95% CI, 2.35-5.12; I2, 26.0%) and poor neurological function (average follow-up of 21.75 months; OR, 3.62; 95% CI, 2.15-6.09; I2, 0). Secondary analyses, with or without inadequate adjustment, showed that PSD was significantly associated with prolonged hospital length of stay, increased risk of institutionalization, poor cognitive outcomes, and quality of life after discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review and meta-analysis provides evidence that PSD was independently associated with mortality and poor neurological function after controlling for pre-specified confounders. The prevention of PSD remains a high clinical and research priority.

Bringing Delirium to Light: Impact of CAM-ICU Tool to Improve Care Coordination

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a serious complication in patients in the critical care unit (CCU) that may lead to prolonged hospitalization if left undetected. The CCU at our hospital does not have a framework for determining delirium that could affect patient outcomes and discharge planning.

PRIMARY PRACTICE SETTING

CCU in a community hospital.

METHOD

A posttest-only design was used for this study. We established a framework for the early assessment of delirium, educated and trained nurses to detect delirium, collaborated with the informatics department, intensivist, nursing, respiratory therapy and worked with case management to deploy the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). We used a one-tailed independent t test to determine the impact of CAM-ICU on length of stay (LOS). Cross-tabulation and chi-square tests were used to examine the impact of CAM-ICU tool on home care utilization between the intervention and comparison groups.

RESULTS

There was a 3.12% reduction in LOS after implementing the CAM-ICU tool. Also, a reduction in home care service utilization demonstrated statistical significance ( p = .001) between the intervention group (62.5%; n = 177) and the comparison group (37.5%; n = 106).

IMPLICATIONS FOR CASE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

Case managers are essential in improving care transitions. Case managers need to become competent in understanding the implications of the CAM-ICU tool because of their relevant role in the multidisciplinary rounds as advocates to improve care transitions across the continuum of care. Case managers need to have an understanding on how to escalate when changes in the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale scores occur during the multidisciplinary rounds because it can affect care coordination throughout the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementing the CAM-ICU decreased LOS, and reduced health care utilization. The early identification of patients with delirium can affect the outcomes of critically ill patients and entails multidisciplinary collaboration.

Urinary incontinence indicates mortality, disability, and infections in hospitalised stroke patients

OBJECTIVES

To assess the impact of urinary incontinence (UI) on health outcomes over the entire spectrum of acute stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] scores: 0-42), due to a paucity of data on patients with milder strokes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data were prospectively collected (2014-2016) from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (1593 men, 1591 women; mean [SD] age 76.8 [13.3] years) admitted to four UK hyperacute stroke units (HASUs). Relationships between variables were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Data were adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, pre-stroke disability and intra-cranial haemorrhage, and presented as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Amongst patients with no symptoms or a minor stroke (NIHSS scores of 0-4), compared to patients without UI, patients with UI had significantly greater risks of poor outcomes including: in-hospital mortality; disability at discharge; in-hospital pneumonia; urinary tract infection within 7 days of admission; prolonged length of stay on the HASU; palliative care by discharge; activity of daily living (ADL) support, and new discharge to care home. In patients with more moderate stroke (NIHSS score of 5-15) the same outcomes were identified; being at greater risk for patients with UI, except for palliative care by discharge and ADL support. With the highest stroke severity group (NIHSS score of 16-48) all outcomes were identified except in-patient mortality, pneumonia, and ADL support. However, odds ratios diminished as NIHSS scores increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Urinary incontinence is a useful indicator of poor short-term outcomes in older patients with an acute stroke, but irrespective of stroke severity. This provides valuable information to healthcare professionals to identify at-risk individuals.

The RAPID-score: Risk Assessment and PredIction of Delirium in acute stroke patients based on very early clinical parameters

Background and objective

Post-stroke delirium (PSD) is a common complication in acute stroke patients, and guidelines recommend routine screening and various preventive and treatment measures. However, there is a substantial lack of standardized approaches in diagnostic and therapeutic management of PSD. Here, we aimed to develop a new pragmatic and easily assessable screening tool to predict PSD based on early parameters, which are already integral to acute stroke diagnostics.

Methods

We enrolled acute stroke patients admitted to our stroke unit or intensive care unit and developed the scoring system using retrospective single-center patient data. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit was used for prospective score validation. Logistic regression models were employed to analyze the association of early clinical and paraclinical parameters with PSD development.

Results

N = 525 patients (median age: 76 years; 45.7% female) were enrolled, with 29.7% developing PSD during hospitalization. The resulting score comprises 6 items, including medical history, clinical examination findings, and non-contrast computed tomography results at admission. Scores range from -15 to +15 points, with higher values indicating a higher likelihood of PSD, ranging from 4% to 79%. The accuracy was 0.85, and the area under the curve was 0.89.

Conclusion

The new RAPID (Risk Assessment and PredIction of Delirium in acute stroke patients)-score shows high accuracy in predicting PSD among acute stroke patients and offers precise odds of PSD for each corresponding score value, utilizing routine early clinical and paraclinical parameters. It can identify high-risk populations for clinical study interventions and may be suitable to guide prophylactic PSD measures.

Delirium screening in a stroke unit by nurses using 4AT: Results from a quality improvement project

AIM

To assess the feasibility of delirium screening with the screening tool 4AT conducted by stroke unit nurses.

DESIGN

Observational.

METHODS

Patients with confirmed acute stroke admitted to the stroke unit at Baerum Hospital, Norway, from March to October 2020, were consecutively recruited. Nurses performed delirium screening using the rapid screening tool 4AT within 24 h of admission, at discharge and when delirium was suspected, and filled out a questionnaire assessing their experiences with the delirium screening. A geriatrician validated the delirium diagnosis.

RESULTS

In all, 62 patients were included, mean age 73.3 years. 4AT was performed according to protocol in 49 (79.0%) and 39 (62.9%) patients at admission and discharge respectively. Lack of time (40%) was reported as the most common reason for not performing delirium screening. The nurses reported that the felt competent to carry out the 4AT screening, and did not experience it as significant extra workload. Five patients (8%) were diagnosed with delirium. Delirium screening performed by stroke unit nurses seemed feasible and the nurses experienced that 4AT was a useful tool for this purpose.

Investigating nurses' knowledge and attitudes about delirium in older persons: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Delirium is the most common emergency for older hospitalized patients that demands urgent treatment, otherwise it can lead to more severe health conditions. Nurses play a crucial part in diagnosing delirium and their competencies facilitate the appropriate treatment and management of the condition.

AIM

This study aims to enhance the understanding of delirium care by exploring both knowledge and attitudes of nurses toward patients in acute care hospital wards and the possible association between these two variables.

METHOD

The Nurses Knowledge of Delirium Questionnaire (NKD) and the Attitude Tool of Delirium (ATOD) that were created for the said inquiry, were disseminated to 835 nurses in the four largest Public Hospitals of the Republic. These tools focused particularly on departments with increased frequency of delirium (response rate = 67%).

RESULTS

Overall nurses have limited knowledge of acute confusion/delirium. The average of correct answers was 42.2%. Only 38% of the participants reported a correct definition of delirium, 41.6 correctly reported the tools to identify delirium and 42.5 answered correctly on the factors leading to delirium development. The results of the attitudes' questionnaire confirmed that attitudes towards patients with delirium may not be supportive enough. A correlation between the level of nurses' knowledge and their attitude was also found. The main factors influencing the level of knowledge and attitudes were gender, education, and workplace.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study are useful for the international audience since they can be used to develop and modify educational programmes in order to rectify the knowledge deficits and uninformed attitudes towards patients with delirium. The development of a valid and reliable instrument for the evaluation of attitudes will help to further assess nurses' attitudes. Furthermore, the results are even more important and useful on a national level since there is no prior data on the subject area, making this study the first of its kind.

Predisposing and precipitating risk factors for delirium in gastroenterology and hepatology: Subgroup analysis of 718 patients from a hospital-wide prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Delirium is the most common acute neuropsychiatric syndrome in hospitalized patients. Higher age and cognitive impairment are known predisposing risk factors in general hospital populations. However, the interrelation with precipitating gastrointestinal (GI) and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) diseases remains to be determined.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Prospective 1-year hospital-wide cohort study in 29'278 adults, subgroup analysis in 718 patients hospitalized with GI/HPB disease. Delirium based on routine admission screening and a DSM-5 based construct. Regression analyses used to evaluate clinical characteristics of delirious patients.

RESULTS

Delirium was detected in 24.8% (178/718). Age in delirious patients (median 62 years [IQR 21]) was not different to non-delirious (median 60 years [IQR 22]), p = 0.45). Dementia was the strongest predisposing factor for delirium (OR 66.16 [6.31-693.83], p < 0.001). Functional impairment, and at most, immobility increased odds for delirium (OR 7.78 [3.84-15.77], p < 0.001). Patients with delirium had higher in-hospital mortality rates (18%; OR 39.23 [11.85-129.93], p < 0.001). From GI and HPB conditions, cirrhosis predisposed to delirium (OR 2.11 [1.11-4.03], p = 0.023), while acute renal failure (OR 4.45 [1.61-12.26], p = 0.004) and liver disease (OR 2.22 [1.12-4.42], p = 0.023) were precipitators. Total costs were higher in patients with delirium (USD 30003 vs. 10977; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Delirium in GI- and HPB-disease was not associated with higher age per se, but with cognitive and functional impairment. Delirium needs to be considered in younger adults with acute renal failure and/or liver disease. Clinicians should be aware about individual risk profiles, apply preventive and supportive strategies early, which may improve outcomes and lower costs.

The Role of Vascular Risk Factors in Post-Stroke Delirium: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Vascular risk factors may predispose to post-stroke delirium (PSD). A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The primary outcome was the prevalence of vascular risk factors in PSD vs. non-PSD patients. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs were calculated for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Fixed effects or random effects models were used in case of low- or high-statistical heterogeneity, respectively. We found an increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation (OR = 1.74, p = 0.0004), prior stroke (OR = 1.48, p < 0.00001), coronary artery disease (OR = 1.48, p < 0.00001), heart failure (OR = 2.01, p < 0.0001), and peripheral vascular disease (OR = 2.03, p < 0.00001) in patients with vs. without PSD. PSD patients were older (MD = 5.27 y, p < 0.00001) compared with their non-PSD counterparts. Advanced age, atrial fibrillation, prior stroke, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and peripheral vascular disease appeared to be significantly associated with PSD.

Discharge Destinations of Delirious Patients: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study of 27,026 Patients From a Large Health Care System

OBJECTIVES

Delirium is known to contribute to increased rates of institutionalization and mortality. The full extent of adverse outcomes, however, remains understudied. We aimed to systematically assess the discharge destinations and mortality risk in delirious patients in a large sample across all hospital services.

DESIGN

Pragmatic prospective cohort study of consecutive admissions to a large health care system.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A total of 27,026 consecutive adults (>18 years old) with length of stay of at least 24 hours in a tertiary care center from January 1 to December 31, 2014.

METHODS

Presence of delirium determined by routine delirium screening. Clinical characteristics, discharge destination, and mortality were collected. Calculation of odds ratios (ORs) with logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI).

RESULTS

Delirium was detected in 19.7% of patients (5313 of 27,026), median age of delirious patients was 56 years (25-75 interquartile range = 37-70). The electronic health record (DSM-5-based) delirium algorithm correctly identified 93.3% of delirium diagnoses made by consultation-liaison psychiatrists. Across services, the odds of delirious patients returning home was significantly reduced [OR 0.12; confidence interval (CI) 0.10-0.13; P < .001]. Rather, these patients were transferred to acute rehabilitation (OR 4.15; CI 3.78-4.55; P < .001) or nursing homes (OR 4.12; CI 3.45-4.93; P < .001). Delirious patients had a significantly increased adjusted mortality risk (OR 30.0; CI 23.2-39.4; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study advances our understanding of the discharge destination across all services in adults admitted to a large hospital system. Delirium was associated with reduced odds of returning home, increased odds of discharge to a setting of higher dependency, and excess mortality independent of comorbidity, age, and sex. These findings emphasize the potentially devastating outcomes associated with delirium and highlight the need for timely diagnosis and hospital-wide management.