General hospital psychiatry
-
In order to detect patients who become delirious after cardiac surgery in an early postoperative stage, an observational checklist was used. Fifteen patients were constantly observed during their 48-hour stay at the intensive care unit for postoperative care. Two (13%) male patients developed postoperative delirium according to DSM-III-R criteria. It was possible to detect these patients in an early postoperative stage (within 48 hours) by means of systematic observations of their behavior.