Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2001; 22(2): 115-126
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-13826
Copyright © 2001 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit: An Under-Recognized Syndrome of Organ Dysfunction

E. Wesley Ely1 , Mark D. Siegel2 , Sharon K. Inouye M.D.3
  • 1Department of Medicine, Center for Health Services Research and Division of Allergy/Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
  • 3Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
31 December 2001 (online)

ABSTRACT

The intensivist should think of delirium, or acute central nervous system dysfunction, as the brain's form of ``organ dysfunction.'' Delirium is extremely common in intensive care unit (ICU) patients due to factors such as comorbidity, critical illness, and iatrogenesis. This complication of hospital stay is extremely hazardous in older persons and is associated with prolonged hospital stays, institutionalization, and death. Neurologic dysfunction compromises patients' ability to be removed from mechanical ventilation or achieve full recovery and independence. Yet ICU nurses and physicians are usually unaware of the presence of hypoactive delirium and only recognize this disturbance in agitated patients (hyperactive delirium). More importantly, there are few studies that have included ICU patients in the assessment or prevention of delirium. This article reviews the definition and salient features of delirium, its primary risk factors, a newly validated instrument for delirium assessment that is being developed for ICU nurses and physicians, and pharmacological agents associated with the development of delirium and used in its management.

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