Non-Pharmacological Prevention Measures for Delirium in Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Delirium is defined as an abrupt or rapid change in mental status or mood, having difficulties with concentration and general disorder in ability to think, as well as experiencing confusion and altered consciousness. The incidence of delirium in intensive care units varies from about 4 to 83%. This difference can be attributed to reasons linked with various levels of training of the health professionals establishing the scores, the depth of sedation, and the differences in samples studied. Its etiology is clearly multifactorial. It has been shown that the occurrence of delirium has a strong impact on the vital and functional prognosis of patients in resuscitation, associated with an increase in early and late hospital mortality as well as a cognitive decline which may persist beyond the stay in the intensive care unit. It is important to note that the critical care serviced to patients experiencing delirium is extremely heterogeneous. However, new data from literature provides concrete ways to manage this syndrome and proposes a guide to paramedical practice for the prevention and screening of this cognitive disorder. The objective of this work is, therefore, to synthesize the literature available in this field, highlighting the key role of the paramedical profession in this context in identifying the diagnostic and therapeutic elements to put in practice, and so to modify care practices.