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Barriers to delirium screening and management during hospital admission

Written by Prolira | Jul 2, 2023 1:00:00 PM

Barriers to delirium screening and management during hospital admission: a qualitative analysis of inpatient nursing perspectives.

A great article by Jacqueline Ragheb, Alexandra Norcott, Lakeshia Benn, Nirav Shah, Amy McKinney, Lillian Min & Phillip E. Vlisides on 'Barriers to delirium screening and management during hospital admission'.

Full article at: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-023-09681-4 

A snippet from the Introduction:

Delirium is a major complication of hospital admission that is associated with increased length of hospitalization [1], cognitive and functional decline [2, 3], and substantial healthcare costs [4]. Older patients are particularly vulnerable to delirium, which may ominously predict future Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias [5]. Preventing, identifying, and managing delirium are thus important elements of optimizing clinical care for older, vulnerable patients during hospitalization.

Unfortunately, delirium screening tools used in routine clinical practice demonstrate low sensitivity (~ 30%) with delirium detection [6], despite validation studies indicating sensitivities > 80% [7]. 

Major Themes Surrounding Inpatient Delirium Care – Nursing Perspectives

Within the article, 4 themes are highlighted:

  1. Delirium Screening Challenges and Perceptions
  2. Organizational Culture Towards Delirium
  3. Competing Clinical Priorities
  4. Desired Improvements

Full article

The full article can be found here: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-023-09681-4