Association between intensive care unit delirium and delusional memory after critical care in mechanically ventilated patients.
Yasuyo Yoshino, Takeshi Unoki, Hideaki Sakuramoto and 4 others
PMID 33387449WHAT IT FOUND
68% of mechanically ventilated ICU patients had delusional memories after discharge, and those with ICU delirium were more likely to report them.
This gives nurses a patient-centred reason to take ICU delirium screening seriously.
Key findings
0168% of 60 patients had delusional memories after ICU discharge.
02Delirium during ICU stay was independently associated with delusional memory after discharge (odds ratio 3.71; 95% CI 1.038-13.265; p = .04).
03Delirium was more common among patients with delusional memories than among those without (73% vs 36%; p = .01).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single 12-bed ICU and included only 60 patients, so the association may not apply to other ICUs or patients. It only assessed memories 5 to 10 days after ICU discharge, so delusional memories that appeared later may have been missed. The interviewer was involved in the patients’ clinical care, which may have influenced what patients reported. The study was observational, so it cannot show that delirium caused delusional memories. The confidence interval for the association was wide, from 1.038 to 13.265, so the size of the association is uncertain.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that preventing ICU delirium will reduce delusional memories. This was an observational study that found an association between delirium during ICU stay and later delusional memories; it did not test delirium prevention.