Postoperative confusion assessed with the short portable mental status questionnaire

Background: Confusion is a common occurrence after cardiac surgery. However, there is great variability in the reported incidence of confusion in patients following cardiac surgery, mainly due to the diagnostic methods and instruments employed in assessing confusion. Methods: Forty-eight cardiac surgery patients were assessed for postoperative confusion by a non-structured physician interview, and by the short portable mental status questionnaire ( SPMSQ) administered by a medical student. Results: The non-structured ward interviews detected confusion in one of the 48 patients (2%), whereas the SPMSQ diagnosed confusion in 15 of the 48 patients (31%). Conclusion: Unlike a subjective ward interview, the SPMSQ is a brief and objective diagnostic tool that can be used to measure accurately both the presence and severity of confusion in postoperative cardiac surgery patients.