Delirium in Australian Hospitals: A Prospective Study
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics and assessment results of patients with delirium versus those without delirium.
Characteristic
Delirium at admission ()†; (%)
No delirium at admission ()†; (%)
(df)
value
Incident delirium†† ()†; (%)
No incident delirium ()†; (%)
(df)
value
Age (years)
M = 84.6; SD = 4.9
M = 79.9; SD = 6.5
−4.8
0.008*
M = 81.2; SD = 6.1
M = 79.8; SD = 6.5
−1.2
1.000
Gender
Female
26 (54.2)
262 (58.9)
17 (50.0)
245 (59.6)
Male
22 (45.8)
183 (41.1)
0.39 (1)
1.000
17 (50.0)
166 (40.4)
1.2 (1)
1.000
Diagnosis of dementia
24 (50)
78 (17.5)
27.8 (1)
0.008*
15 (44.1)
63 (15.3)
18.0 (1)
0.023*
Visual impairment
7 (14.6)
39 (8.8)
1.72 (1)
0.865
5 (14.7)
34 (8.3)
1.6 (1)
1.000
Hearing impairment
4 (8.3)
29 (6.5)
0.23 (1)
1.000
5 (14.7)
24 (5.9)
4.0 (1)
0.455
Admitted from
Private residence
33 (68.8)
398 (89.4)
28 (82.4)
370 (90.0)
Nursing home
Low care
4 (8.3)
18 (4.0)
2 (5.9)
16 (3.9)
High care
10 (20.8)
16 (3.6)
3 (8.8)
13 (3.2)
Other‡
1 (2.1)
13 (2.9)
28.4 (3)
0.008*
1 (2.9)
12 (2.9)
3.1 (3)
1.000
Admitted to
General medical ward
37 (77.1)
257 (57.8)
18 (52.9)
239 (58.2)
General surgical ward
7 (14.6)
133 (29.9)
13 (38.2)
120 (29.2)
Orthopedic ward
4 (8.3)
55 (12.4)
6.9 (2)
0.171
3 (8.8)
52 (12.7)
1.4 (2)
1.000
Did they have surgery requiring general anesthetic?
7 (14.6)
95 (21.3)
1.2 (1)
1.000
12 (35.3)
83 (20.2)
4.3 (1)
0.455
Most frequent principal diagnosis
Stroke (25); Hip replacement/other hip and femur procedures (12.5)
COPD‡‡ (5.4); oesophagitis, gastroenteritis, and other digestive disorders (4.3)
Hip fracture/other hip and femur procedure (14.7); heart failure and shock (11.8)
COPD‡‡ (5.8); oesophagitis, gastroenteritis, and other digestive disorders (4.6)
Characteristic
Delirium at admission
No delirium at admission
value
Incident delirium
No incident delirium
value
Mini-Mental State Examination; mean (SD)
19.2 (6.6)
25.2 (4.6)
7.2
0.008*
22.3 (5.8)
25.4 (4.4)
3.73
0.023*
Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE); (SD)
4.1 (0.79) ()
3.4 (0.73) ()
−4.1
0.008*
3.7 (0.7) ()
3.4 (0.73) ()
−1.4
0.967
Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13); mean (SD)
6.64 (3.3)
5.1 (3.2)
−3.04
0.013*
6.3 (2.9)
4.9 (3.3)
−2.5
0.455
Neuropsychiatric Questionnaire (NPI-Q); mean (SD)
7.1 (5.8) ()
3.4 (4.5) ()
−3.8
0.008*
4.4 (4.4) ()
3.3 (4.5) ()
−1.0
1.000
Charlson Comorbidity Index
4.5 (2.6)
4.0 (2.9)
−1.02
1.000
4.9 (2.4)
3.9 (2.9)
−1.8
0.455
Unless otherwise indicated; ††patients with delirium at admission were excluded from the analyses; *. Other includes supported accommodation in the community, short-term crisis accommodation, other hospital, and “other”. IQCODE: higher scores indicate greater decline with scores greater than 3.44 indicative of cognitive decline. VES-13 scores of 3 or more in older people indicate an increased risk of functional decline or mortality over the next 2 years. NPI-Q: scores range from 0 to 36 with higher scores indicative of greater symptomatology. GA: general anesthetic; none of the 43 cases assessed following the procedure were considered to have delirium at admission compared to 11.9% () of those assessed prior to the procedure ( (1); ). ‡‡COPD: chronic obstructive airway disease.
