• Rodrigo Bernardo Serafim, Maximiliano F Dutra, Felipe Saddy, Bernardo Tura, Jose Eduardo Couto de Castro, Luciana C Villarinho, Maria da Gloria Santos, Fernando Augusto Bozza, and José Rodolfo Rocco.
• Ventilatory Care Unit, Copa D'Or Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. rodrigobserafim@gmail.com.
• Ann Intensive Care. 2012 Jan 1;2(1):51.

UnlabelledBackgroundDelirium features can vary greatly depending on the postoperative population studied; however, most studies focus only on high-risk patients. Describing the impact of delirium and risk factors in mixed populations can help in the development of preventive actions.MethodsThe occurrence of delirium was evaluated prospectively in 465 consecutive nonventilated postoperative patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) using the confusion assessment method (CAM). Patients with and without delirium were compared. A multiple logistic regression was performed to identify the main risk factors for delirium in the first 24 h of admission to the SICU and the main predictors of outcomes.ResultsDelirium was diagnosed in 43 (9.2%) individuals and was more frequent on the second and third days of admission. The presence of delirium resulted in longer lengths of SICU and hospital stays [6 days (3-13) vs. 2 days (1-3), p < 0.001 and 26 days (12-39) vs. 6 days (3-13), p <0.001, respectively], as well as higher hospital and SICU mortality rates [16.3% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.004 and 6.5% vs. 1.7%, p = 0.042, respectively]. The risk factors for delirium were age (odds ratio (OR), 1.04 [1.02-1.07]), Acute Physiologic Score (APS; OR, 1.11 [1.04-1.2]), emergency surgery (OR, 8.05 [3.58-18.06]), the use of benzodiazepines (OR, 2.28 [1.04-5.00]), and trauma (OR, 6.16 [4.1-6.5]).ConclusionsDelirium negatively impacts postoperative nonventilated patients. Risk factors can be used to detect high-risk patients in a mixed population of SICU patients.

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