BACKGROUND Delirium is a common disorder in the early phase of stroke. Given the presumed cholinergic deficiency in delirium, we tested treatment with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine. METHODS This pilot study was performed within an epidemiological study. In 527 consecutive stroke patients presence of delirium was assessed during the first week with the confusion assessment me...

Delirium is a neurocognitive syndrome arising from acute global brain dysfunction, and is prevalent in up to 42% of patients admitted to palliative care inpatient units. The symptoms of delirium and its associated communicative impediment invariably generate high levels of patient and family distress. Furthermore, delirium is associated with significant patient morbidity and increased mortality...

BACKGROUND Delirium is characterized by disturbances in circadian rhythm. Melatonin regulates our circadian rhythm. Our aim was to compare preoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) melatonin levels in patients with and without postoperative delirium. METHODS Prospective cohort study with hip fracture patients ≥ 65 years who were acutely admitted to the hospital for surgical treatment and receive...

Delirium is known to be a predictor of adverse outcomes. In a prospective study Abelha and colleagues showed that postoperative delirium was an independent risk factor for deterioration in functional capacity following discharge. While evidence for causality remains elusive, there is no doubt that patients who develop delirium are left with new functional and cognitive impairment. Finding a pha...

CONTEXT Delirium occurs in many hospitalized older patients and has serious consequences including increased risk for death and admission to long-term care. Despite its importance, health care clinicians often fail to recognize delirium. Simple bedside instruments may lead to improved identification. OBJECTIVE To systematically review the evidence on the accuracy of bedside instruments in dia...

INTRODUCTION Delirium occurs frequently in critically ill patients and is associated with disease severity and infection. Although several pathways for delirium have been described, biomarkers associated with delirium in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is not well studied. We examined plasma biomarkers in delirious and nondelirious patients and the role of these biomarkers on long-term cogni...

BACKGROUND Delirium is a common complication for older people in hospital. Evidence suggests that delirium incidence in hospital may be reduced by about a third through a multi-component intervention targeted at known modifiable risk factors. We describe the research design and conceptual framework underpinning it that informed the development of a novel delirium prevention system of care for a...

OBJECTIVE H(2) blockers have been reported to be responsible for drug-induced delirium. We compared the incidence of delirium between two groups of patients who were treated with H(2) blockers (H(2) group) or proton pump inhibitors (PPI group) for anastomotic ulcer prevention following surgical treatment of esophageal cancer. METHOD The incidence and severity of delirium were retrospectively ...

OBJECTIVES Delirium is a common complication in elderly patients after cardiac surgery and is associated with adverse outcomes including prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality. Therefore, prevention or early detection of delirium is indicated. Our objective was to identify preoperative and operative characteristics that could predict delirium after cardiac surgery in elderly patients. ...