ContextIn the intensive care unit (ICU), delirium is a common yet underdiagnosed
form of organ dysfunction, and its contribution to patient outcomes is unclear.ObjectiveTo determine if delirium is an independent predictor of clinical outcomes,
including 6-month mortality and length of stay among ICU patients receiving
mechanical ventilation.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsProspective cohort study enrolling 275 consecutive mechanically ventilated
patients admitted to adult medical and coronary ICUs of a US university-based
medical center between February 2000 and May 2001. Patients were followed
up for development of delirium over 2158 ICU days using the Confusion Assessment
Method for the ICU and the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale.Main Outcome MeasuresPrimary outcomes included 6-month mortality, overall hospital length
of stay, and length of stay in the post-ICU period. Secondary outcomes were
ventilator-free days and cognitive impairment at hospital discharge.ResultsOf 275 patients, 51 (18.5%) had persistent coma and died in the hospital.
Among the remaining 224 patients, 183 (81.7%) developed delirium at some point
during the ICU stay. Baseline demographics including age, comorbidity scores,
dementia scores, activities of daily living, severity of illness, and admission
diagnoses were similar between those with and without delirium (P>.05 for all). Patients who developed delirium had higher 6-month
mortality rates (34% vs 15%, P = .03) and spent 10
days longer in the hospital than those who never developed delirium (P<.001). After adjusting for covariates (including age,
severity of illness, comorbid conditions, coma, and use of sedatives or analgesic
medications), delirium was independently associated with higher 6-month mortality
(adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-7.7; P = .008), and longer hospital stay (adjusted HR, 2.0;
95% CI, 1.4-3.0; P<.001). Delirium in the ICU
was also independently associated with a longer post-ICU stay (adjusted HR,
1.6; 95% CI, 1.2-2.3; P = .009), fewer median days
alive and without mechanical ventilation (19 [interquartile range, 4-23] vs
24 [19-26]; adjusted P = .03), and a higher incidence
of cognitive impairment at hospital discharge (adjusted HR, 9.1; 95% CI, 2.3-35.3; P = .002).ConclusionDelirium was an independent predictor of higher 6-month mortality and
longer hospital stay even after adjusting for relevant covariates including
coma, sedatives, and analgesics in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/198503/JCE30038.pdf

Delirium as a predictor of mortality in mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit

ContextLorazepam is currently recommended for sustained sedation of mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients, but this and other benzodiazepine drugs may contribute to acute brain dysfunction, ie, delirium and coma, associated with prolonged hospital stays, costs, and increased mortality. Dexmedetomidine induces sedation via different central nervous system receptors than the benzodiazepine drugs and may lower the risk of acute brain dysfunction.ObjectiveTo determine whether dexmedetomidine reduces the duration of delirium and coma in mechanically ventilated ICU patients while providing adequate sedation as compared with lorazepam.Design, Setting, Patients, and InterventionDouble-blind, randomized controlled trial of 106 adult mechanically ventilated medical and surgical ICU patients at 2 tertiary care centers between August 2004 and April 2006. Patients were sedated with dexmedetomidine or lorazepam for as many as 120 hours. Study drugs were titrated to achieve the desired level of sedation, measured using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS). Patients were monitored twice daily for delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU).Main Outcome MeasuresDays alive without delirium or coma and percentage of days spent within 1 RASS point of the sedation goal.ResultsSedation with dexmedetomidine resulted in more days alive without delirium or coma (median days, 7.0 vs 3.0; P = .01) and a lower prevalence of coma (63% vs 92%; P < .001) than sedation with lorazepam. Patients sedated with dexmedetomidine spent more time within 1 RASS point of their sedation goal compared with patients sedated with lorazepam (median percentage of days, 80% vs 67%; P = .04). The 28-day mortality in the dexmedetomidine group was 17% vs 27% in the lorazepam group (P = .18) and cost of care was similar between groups. More patients in the dexmedetomidine group (42% vs 31%; P = .61) were able to complete post-ICU neuropsychological testing, with similar scores in the tests evaluating global cognitive, motor speed, and attention functions. The 12-month time to death was 363 days in the dexmedetomidine group vs 188 days in the lorazepam group (P = .48).ConclusionIn mechanically ventilated ICU patients managed with individualized targeted sedation, use of a dexmedetomidine infusion resulted in more days alive without delirium or coma and more time at the targeted level of sedation than with a lorazepam infusion.Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00095251

/pdf/effect-of-sedation-with-dexmedetomidine-vs-lorazepam-on-4i1ylendsq.pdf

Effect of Sedation With Dexmedetomidine vs Lorazepam on Acute Brain Dysfunction in Mechanically Ventilated Patients: The MENDS Randomized Controlled Trial

Background:Delirium has recently been shown as a predictor of death, increased cost, and longer duration of stay in ventilated patients. Sedative and analgesic medications relieve anxiety and pain but may contribute to patients’ transitioning into delirium.Methods:In this cohort study, the authors d

Lorazepam is an independent risk factor for transitioning to delirium in intensive care unit patients.

Study objective: To determine the relationship between delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU) and outcomes including length of stay in the hospital. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: The adult medical ICU of a tertiary care, university-based medical center. Participants: The study population consisted of 48 patients admitted to the ICU, 24 of whom received mechanical ventilation. Measurements: All patients were evaluated for the development and persistence of delirium on a daily basis by a geriatric or psychiatric specialist with expertise in delirium assessment using the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) criteria of the American Psychiatric Association, the reference standard for delirium ratings. Primary outcomes measured were length of stay in the ICU and hospital. Results: The mean onset of delirium was 2.6 days (S.D.±1.7), and the mean duration was 3.4±1.9 days. Of the 48 patients, 39 (81.3%) developed delirium, and of these 29 (60.4%) developed the complication while still in the ICU. The duration of delirium was associated with length of stay in the ICU (r=0.65, P=0.0001) and in the hospital (r=0.68, P<0.0001). Using multivariate analysis, delirium was the strongest predictor of length of stay in the hospital (P=0.006) even after adjusting for severity of illness, age, gender, race, and days of benzodiazepine and narcotic drug administration. Conclusions: In this patient cohort, the majority of patients developed delirium in the ICU, and delirium was the strongest independent determinant of length of stay in the hospital. Further study and monitoring of delirium in the ICU and the risk factors for its development are warranted.

/pdf/the-impact-of-delirium-in-the-intensive-care-unit-on-rf7dug5b8e.pdf

The impact of delirium in the intensive care unit on hospital length of stay

Background
Delirium or acute brain dysfunction is extremely prevalent in medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients, but limited data exist regarding its prevalence and risk factors among surgical (SICU) and trauma ICU (TICU) patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for delirium in surgical and trauma ICU patients.

Paul Wade

Papers

Sedation in the intensive care unit.

Intravenous fluids: the options.