Centre for Policy on Ageing



Management of delirium in medicine — experience of a close observation unit
Author(s)	Eamonn Eeles, Leah Thompson, Judy McCrow, Shaun Pandy
Journal title	Australasian Journal on Ageing, vol 32, no 1, March 2013
Publisher	Wiley Blackwell, March 2013
Pages	pp 60-63
Source	http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journals/ajag
Keywords	In-patients ; Confusion ; At risk ; State enrolled nurses ; Observation ; Evaluation.
Annotation	In this study a new model of care for the management of patients with delirium was developed and evaluated. A four-bedded Close Observation Unit (COU) was introduced. The model comprised education for assistants in nursing (AINs), environmental adaptations and AIN-to-patient ratio of 1:4. Outcomes in all patients with delirium before and after introduction of the new model of care were compared. 105 patients were admitted to COU, of whom 100 (95%) were diagnosed with delirium. In-hospital mortality improved after introduction of the unit without significant change in length of stay, discharge destination or falls frequency. Overall results showed that a dedicated unit for delirium management within medicine achieved a reduction in mortality. (JL).
Accession Number	CPA-130412227 A
Classmark	LF7: EDC: CA3: QTF: 4AA: 4C
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.