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- Title
The incidence of delirium in psychiatric inpatient units.
- Authors
Patten, Scott B.; Williams, Jeanne V. A.; Haynes, Laura; McCruden, Jane; Arboleda-Flôrez, Julio; Patten, S B; Williams, J V; Haynes, L; McCruden, J; Arboleda-Flórez, J
- Abstract
<bold>Objectives: </bold>To estimate prospectively the incidence of delirium in psychiatric inpatients and to identify risk factors for delirium in this population.<bold>Method: </bold>The subjects were nondelirious patients newly admitted to the Calgary General Hospital. The Delirium Symptom Interview (DSI), the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to identify incident cases of delirium. In order to evaluate the potential impact of selection bias, we conducted a supplementary analysis using record linkage to an electronic administrative data base with coverage of the target population.<bold>Results: </bold>Of 420 admissions to the hospital, 401 subjects provided informed consent and were not delirious at the time of admission. There were 9 incident cases of delirium. The cumulative incidence rate was, therefore, 2.14 per 100 admissions. The record linkage analysis did not uncover evidence of selection bias. Delirium was associated with a significantly increased length of stay in hospital.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Delirium is an uncommon incident event in the psychiatric inpatient population. The incidence rate reported here may be useful as a benchmark for the identification of excessive rates in other inpatient settings. Since delirium is sometimes related to modifiable therapeutic factors, an excessive rate should prompt a search for its causes.
- Subjects
CALGARY (Alta.); ALBERTA; DELIRIUM; PATHOLOGICAL psychology; INFORMED consent (Medical law); EPIDEMIOLOGY; STATISTICAL correlation; ANALYSIS of variance; MENTAL health services; DIAGNOSIS of delirium; PSYCHIATRIC hospital statistics; COMPARATIVE studies; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; HOSPITAL admission &; discharge; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL tests; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; PATIENTS; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH; EVALUATION research; RESEARCH bias; DISEASE incidence; CROSS-sectional method
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 1997, Vol 42, Issue 8, p858
- ISSN
0706-7437
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1177/070674379704200809