Prevalence of Delirium in End-of-Life Palliative Care Patients: An Observational Study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of delirium, using the Assessment Test for Delirium and Cognitive Impairment (4AT) in end-of-life palliative care patients. Subjects and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on end-of-life patients in a hospice or at home. All patients were evaluated with the 4AT for the presence of delirium. Results: Of the 461 patients analyzed, 76 (16.5%) were inpatients and 83.5% (385) outpatients. The median age was 79.5 (72–86) years, and 51.0% were female. According to the 4AT score, 126 patients (27.3%) had delirium (A4T ≥4) at admission, 28 (36.8%) were inpatients, and 98 (25.5%) outpatients. Around 33.8% of the cancer inpatients had delirium, while 20.6% of the cancer outpatients had delirium. The prevalence of delirium varied according to the setting, clinical condition, and life expectancy. In addition, 55.0% (11) actively dying inpatients, within 3 days, had delirium, and 56.7% (17) outpatients had delirium; while among those with life expectancy longer than 4 days, 30.4% (17) inpatients and 22.8% (81) outpatients were with delirium. Conclusions: Our study confirms that delirium is common in cancer and noncancer palliative care patients. Further research on delirium in end-of-life palliative care patients should consider the complexity of palliative care of this population as well as of the characteristics of the settings.

Objekt anzeigen

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Prevalence of Delirium in End-of-Life Palliative Care Patients: An Observational Study ; volume:31 ; number:2 ; year:2022 ; pages:118-124 ; extent:7 ; Medical principles and practice ; 31, Heft 2 (2022), 118-124 (gesamt 7)

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Urheber: Recchia, Angela ; Rizzi, Barbara ; Favero, Alessandra ; Nobili, Alessandro ; Pasina, Luca

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.1159/000521994
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022060900412597916586
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.