Prevalence of delirium in patients admitted because of medical conditions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Delirium is a common problem among people during hospitalization. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence and characteristics of delirium among patients admitted by medical conditions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a transversal cohort study in 165 patients admitted to 6 tertiary teaching hospitals. We scored the Barthel index (BI) previously to their admission, and also comorbidity using the Charlson index. Diagnosis of delirium was assessed using the Confusional Assessment Method in this transversal study. RESULTS: There were 101 women (61.2%) and 64 men. The mean (SD) age was 80.3 (12) years. The average of Charlson Index was 2.6 (1.7). Previous and evaluation BI were 71.5 (27) and 40.3 (30) respectively. Forty-two patients (25.41/6) had delirium. Poor BI at the evaluation and previous diagnosis of dementia were significant independent variables associated with delirium in the logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Delirium is frequent in medical hospitalized patients. Previous dementia and low BI at the evaluation among medical patients are associated with delirium.