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Impact of delirium on short-term mortality in elderly inpatients: a prospective cohort study.
Psychosomatics. 2009 May-Jun;50(3):234-8
Authors: González M, Martínez G, Calderón J, Villarroel L, Yuri F, Rojas C, Jeria A, Valdivia G, Marín PP, Carrasco M
BACKGROUND: Delirium is an important problem especially in older medical inpatients. OBJECTIVE: The authors asked whether delirium and its duration are associated with higher mortality in a 3-month follow-up period. METHOD: In this prospective cohort study, inpatients age 65 and older were assessed every 48 hours with the Confusion Assessment Method. RESULTS: Of 542 patients enrolled, 192 (35.4%) developed delirium. After 3 months, mortality in the delirium cohort was 25.9%, and in the nondelirium cohort was 5.8%. Delirium was independently associated with mortality, and increased by 11% for every 48 hours of delirium. CONCLUSION: Delirium and increased delirium durations are significantly associated with higher mortality.
PMID: 19567762 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]