Distress due to delirium experience

Experience in Delirium: Is It Distressing?

“…Most of the previous studies that evaluated this aspect have been limited by small sample. 5,12,13,18,[20][21][22] These studies have mostly focused on patients with cancer 19,26 or patients admitted to the intensive or critical care units. 15,17,18 These factors limit the generalization of findings to all the patients admitted to medical and surgical wards and are not necessarily terminally ill or very severely ill, requiring life support in the intensive care unit setting.…”

“…Although it is considered to be short lasting, it has been shown to be associated with a high mortality rate, functional decline, prolonged hospital stay, increased rates of admission to long-term care, and increased costs of care and development of long-term cognitive decline. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Besides these consequences, although less evaluated, few studies suggest that experience of delirium is also associated with many psychological consequences in those who recover from it. 5,[7][8][9][10][11] The psychological consequences in patients who recover from delirium include the inability to remember their experience of delirium and those who are able to recollect it describe it to be an unpleasant experience.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Besides these consequences, although less evaluated, few studies suggest that experience of delirium is also associated with many psychological consequences in those who recover from it. 5,[7][8][9][10][11] The psychological consequences in patients who recover from delirium include the inability to remember their experience of delirium and those who are able to recollect it describe it to be an unpleasant experience. 7 Most of the available literature on the psychological consequences of delirium is in the form of qualitative studies that have evaluated patients in the intensive care/critical care setting.…”

“…However, this study was limited by a small sample size and lack of estimation of distress associated with specific symptoms of delirium. 5 In view of the limited literature in terms of the number of studies and the sample size of the available studies varying from 5 to 101, there is a need to expand the literature on this important topic. 5,12,13,[19][20][21][22] Keeping this in mind, the present study aimed to assess the patient's experience of delirium and distress associated with the delirium experience.…”

“…5 In view of the limited literature in terms of the number of studies and the sample size of the available studies varying from 5 to 101, there is a need to expand the literature on this important topic. 5,12,13,[19][20][21][22] Keeping this in mind, the present study aimed to assess the patient's experience of delirium and distress associated with the delirium experience. In contrast to the previous study from our center, this study included a relatively larger sample size and also assessed the level of distress associated with few specific symptoms of delirium.…”