Usefulness of Acute Delirium as a Predictor of Adverse Outcomes in Patients >65 Years of Age With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Delirium is a robust predictor of morbidity and mortality among critically ill patients treated in the cardiac intensive care unit

“…Uguz et al 10 previously examined delirium in patients after myocardial infarction and found that its presence was associated with increased death and LOS. In a study focusing exclusively on elderly patients admitted with acutely decompensated heart failure, Uthamalingam et al 11 have reported a positive association between delirium and both mortality and hospital recidivism. We believe that our study complements these small, early investigations and, to our knowledge, is the very first to evaluate nonsurgical CICU patients regardless of age or diagnosis.…”

“…Coinciding with emerging evidence supporting the increased burden of critical illness in these specialized units, 9 delirium has recently been recognized as a prevalent comorbid condition among groups of cardiac critical care patients. [10][11][12] The current literature, however, has been limited by small sample sizes, single cardiac diagnoses, or mixed medical-surgical populations. We therefore sought to assess not only the prevalence of delirium among critically ill cardiovascular individuals but also to evaluate the prognostic significance of delirium in the CICU.…”

Hospital readmission in heart failure, a novel analysis of a longstanding problem

“…This correlation is likely multifactorial, but may be secondary to such factors as cerebral hypoperfusion and multiple cardiogenic emboli [57]. Patients admitted for heart failure complicated by an episode of acute delirium have an increased risk of in-hospital death as well as readmission at 30 and 60 days [58]. Moreover, practitioners must remember that elderly patients often report physical ailments in lieu of typical psychological symptoms [55].…”

Predicting delirium: a review of risk-stratification models

“…Delirium is also associated with multiple adverse outcomes including patient falls [5], longer length of stay [6], higher readmission rates [7,8], increased costs of care [9], nursing home placement [10], long-term cognitive impairment [11] and mortality [12].…”