• Jeewon Lee, Joonho Jung, Jai Sung Noh, Seungmin Yoo, and You Sun Hong.
• Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, Ajou University Medical Center, School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
• Int J Psychiatry Med. 2013 Jan 1;45(2):143-58.

ObjectivePostoperative delirium after cardiac surgery is associated with many consequences such as poorer functional recovery, more frequent postoperative complications, higher mortality, increased length of hospital stay, and higher hospital costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of perioperative psycho-educational intervention in preventing postoperative delirium in post cardiac surgery patients.MethodWe conducted a comparative retrospective study between 49 patients who had received perioperative psycho-educational intervention and 46 patients who had received standard care. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative delirium. Secondary outcomes included length of ICU stay, and severity and duration of postoperative delirium among the patients who had developed delirium.ResultsThe incidence of postoperative delirium was significantly lower in the intervention group than that in the control group (12.24% vs. 34.78%, P = 0.009). Among the patients who had developed postoperative delirium, there was no statistical difference between the two groups regarding secondary outcomes.ConclusionsOur results show that the patients who received perioperative psycho-educational intervention were associated with a lower incidence of postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery than those who received standard care. Clinicians would be able to implement this psycho-educational intervention as part of routine practice to reduce delirium.

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