Centre for Policy on Ageing



The prognostic significance of delirium in older hospital patients
Author(s)	Shaun O'Keeffe, John Lavan
Journal title	Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 45, no 2, February 1997
Pages	pp 174-178
Keywords	Confusion ; In-patients ; Death ; Admission [nursing homes].
Annotation	Delirium is a common condition affecting many older people, and is characterised by acute impaired attention and cognition. Evidence from research shows that delirium is associated with a high mortality rate, prolonged duration of hospital stay and a high rate of discharge to institutional care. However, prospective studies have identified advanced age, chronic cognitive impairment, severe acute and chronic illness, and functional impairment as predisposing factors for delirium, which could also account for the poor outcome in delirium patients. This study examined delirium patients admitted to an acute geriatric unit, with the aim of determining whether delirium was an independent predictor of adverse outcomes of hospitalisation. Results showed that delirium is an independent predictor of adverse hospital outcomes in older hospital patients.
Accession Number	CPA-970812242 A
Classmark	EDC: LF7: CW: LHB:QKH
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.