Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Academic Term

Summer 8-8-2021

Document Type

Project

Course Number

NURS 6810

Course Name

Advanced Pathophysiology for the Advanced Practice Nurse

Professor’s Name

Sue Butz & John Chovan

Keywords

Delirium, Cognitive Changes, Critical Care/Intensive Care, Mental Status Changes, Psychosis, Early Diagnosis and Early Intervention

Subject Categories

Critical Care Nursing | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

Abstract

Delirium is a severe neurocognitive syndrome characterized by acute changes in consciousness and cognition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Wilson et al., 2020). The syndrome is found to be prevalent within the adult intensive care population resulting from various triggers and stressors in the critical care setting (Wilson et al., 2020). On average, the prevalence of delirium is 23%, but the incidence significantly increases to 50-70% in mechanically ventilated patients (Wilson et al., 2020). As a result of the extension of cognitive deficits, if left untreated, delirium may lead to long-term impairments in cognitive disfunction (Wilson et al., 2020). Current studies identified the significance of delirium and the effect of risk factors on higher-risk adult critical care populations (Velayati et al., 2019; Persico et al., 2018). Treatment and management of delirium is considered through a multimodal approach to address specific stressors and triggers leading to the development of the syndrome (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2019). Minimization of the extensive cognitive impairments caused by delirium may be completed through early identification and assessment and early preventative measures. This poster provides educational information regarding delirium which may be used as a tool in the clinical setting.

Key Words: delirium, cognitive changes, psychosis, critical care/intensive care, early diagnosis and early intervention, mental status changes

Licensing Permission

Copyright, all rights reserved. Fair Use

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