• Mie Nagase, Yoshiaki Okamoto, Satoru Tsuneto, Hitoshi Tanimukai, Yoichi Matsuda, Nao Okishiro, Yumiko Oono, Mamiko Tsugane, Tatsuya Takagi, and Etsuko Uejima.
• Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Osaka University Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
• J Palliat Med. 2012 Nov 1;15(11):1185-90.

BackgroundAgitated delirium is often observed in terminal patients with cancer. To clarify the risk factors for agitated delirium in terminal patients with cancer, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 126 patients with cancer who died at a university hospital in 2008.MethodAs a working definition, we define agitated delirium as a score of 2 or more in item 9 of the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale with diurnal variation.ResultsThe results were as follows: agitated delirium was observed in 49 (42%) of the 115 patients, and it occurred within the last week before death in 49% of the patients. Univariate analysis revealed older age, male gender, smoking history, lung cancer, diabetes, and high C-reactive protein (CRP) value as major risk factors, while dendritic analysis revealed lung cancer, high CRP value, diabetes, older age, and smoking history as key factors for predicting agitation.ConclusionIt is necessary to consider risk factors in order to categorize terminal patients with cancer into high- and low-risk groups and undertake possible counter-measures.

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