Older adults are more likely to develop delirium with COVID-19 infection. This cross-sectional cohort study was designed to explore the risk factors of delirium in hospitalized older adults with COVID-19 and to evaluate whether delirium is an independent predictor of mortality in this cohort of patients.

Data were collected through a retrospective clinical chart review of patients aged 65 years or older who were admitted to St. James’s Hospital between March 2020 and 2021 who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A total of 261 patients (2.8 % of total admissions 65 years or older) were included in this study. Patients who developed delirium were older (80.8 v. 75.8 years, p < 0.001), more likely to have pre-existing cognitive impairment (OR = 3.97 [95% CI 2.11–7.46], p < 0.001), and were more likely to be nursing home residents (OR = 12.32 [95% CI 2.54–59.62], p = 0.0018). Patients who developed delirium had a higher Clinical Frailty score (mean 5.31 v. 3.67, p < 0.001) and higher Charlson Co-morbidity index (mean 2.38 v. 1.82, p = .046). There was no significant association between in-hospital mortality and delirium in the patient cohort (p = 0.13). Delirium was associated with longer hospital stay (40.5 days v. 21 days, P = 0.001) and patients with delirium were more likely to be discharged to nursing homes or convalescence instead of home (OR = 8.46 [95% CI 3.60–19.88], p < 0.001).

Delirium is more likely to occur in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing risk factors for delirium, resulting in prolonged admission and functional decline requiring increased support for discharge.

We previously developed a 24-item Terminal Delirium-Related Distress Scale (TDDS) to evaluate patient and family distress due to terminal delirium. However, a scale with fewer evaluation items was needed to reduce the burden on terminally ill patients and their families. Thus, the TDDS Shortform (TDDS-SF) was developed, and the validity and reliability of the scale were evaluated.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of TDDS-SF.

Items with insufficient loading (<0.6) based on factor analysis were removed from the TDDS. Palliative care experts reviewed each item and checked the structure of the scale. Based on their feedback, we developed the TDDS-SF, a 15-item questionnaire consisting of 4 subscales, including “Care for the family,” “Ability to communicate,” “Psychiatric symptoms,” and “Adequate information and discussion about treatment for delirium.” A cross-sectional, self-completed questionnaire survey of bereaved families of cancer patients who were admitted to a hospice/palliative care unit was conducted in August 2018. The survey included the TDDS-SF, Good Death Inventory (GDI), Care Evaluation Scale (CES), and distress score in the Delirium Experience Questionnaire. The validity, including construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency, and reliability, including the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for internal consistency, of the TDDS-SF were evaluated.

The study included 366 bereaved family members. Factor analysis revealed good construct validity. Convergent validity was demonstrated based on good correlations with the CES (r = − 0.54, P < 0.001) and the GDI (r = − 0.54, P < 0.001). Discriminant validity was demonstrated by a low correlation (r = 0.23, P < 0.001) with the distress scores of bereaved families. The internal consistency was also good (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.70–0.94).

The TDDS-SF is a valid and feasible tool for assessing irreversible terminal delirium-related distress. A study targeting patients and their families with end-of-life delirium is planned for the near future.

Preoperative anxiety is a common phenomenon affecting 60–80% of surgical patients, with potential implications for surgical outcomes. Despite its prevalence, there remains a lack of consensus on its precise effects and optimal management strategies.

This meta-analysis aimed to synthesize current evidence on the impact of preoperative anxiety on various surgical outcomes, including anesthetic and analgesic requirements, delirium, recovery times, and pain.

We conducted a comprehensive literature search and meta-analysis of studies examining the relationship between preoperative anxiety and surgical outcomes. Standardized mean differences (SMD), correlation (COR), and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Our analysis revealed significant associations between preoperative anxiety and increased anesthetic requirements (SMD = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.32–1.01) and analgesic requirements (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.65–1.12). Preoperative anxiety was associated with postoperative delirium in adults (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.11–3.26), unlike the pediatric population. Preoperative anxiety was associated with prolonged time to reach Modified Aldrete Score of 9 (SMD = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.50–1.07) and extubation time (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.58–1.21). Preoperative anxiety was positively correlated with propofol consumption (STAI-S COR = 0.35, 95%CI: 0.15–0.55). No significant association between preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain was found.

This meta-analysis provides evidence for the wide-ranging effects of preoperative anxiety on surgical outcomes. The findings emphasize the need for routine preoperative anxiety screening and the development of targeted interventions. Future research should focus on long-term impacts and the effectiveness of various anxiety management strategies.

The association between heatwave and heat-related outcomes in people with mental health conditions with and without psychotropics was unclear.

We identified people with severe mental illness (SMI) and depression, respectively, using Japanese claim data of Ibaraki prefecture during 1/1/2014–31/12/2021. We conducted self-controlled case series to estimate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of heat-related illness, myocardial infarction and delirium, respectively, during 5-day pre-heatwave, heatwave, and 5-day post-heatwave periods v. all other periods (baseline) within an individual, stratified by periods prescribed psychotropics and periods not prescribed psychotropics, respectively.

Among people with SMI, heatwave was associated with an increased rate of heat-related illness v. baseline, with no evidence of a difference in the IRRs between those prescribed v. not prescribed antipsychotics (IRR: 1.48 [95% CI 1.40–1.56]; 1.45 [95% CI 1.35–1.56] respectively, p interaction: 0.53). Among people with depression, heatwave was similarly associated with heat-related illness, with no evidence of a difference in the IRRs between those prescribed v. not prescribed antidepressants (IRR: 1.54 [95% CI 1.46–1.64]; 1.64 [95% CI 1.57–1.71] respectively, p interaction: 0.33). Smaller increased rates of heat-related illness were also observed in pre- and post-heatwave periods, v. baseline in both cohorts. There was weak evidence of an increased risk of MI and delirium associated with heatwave v. baseline.

We showed an increased risk of heat-related illness, myocardial infarction and delirium associated with heatwave in people with mental health conditions regardless of whether being prescribed psychotropics. Risks of heat-related illness, myocardial infarction and delirium associated with heatwave might not be factors to influence decisions about the routine use of psychotropics.

Delirium is a severe neuropsychiatric syndrome caused by physical illness, associated with high mortality. Understanding risk factors for delirium is key to targeting prevention and screening. Whether severe mental illness (SMI) predisposes people to delirium is not known. We aimed to establish whether pre-existing SMI diagnosis is associated with higher risk of delirium diagnosis and mortality following delirium diagnosis.

A retrospective cohort and nested case–control study using linked primary and secondary healthcare databases from 2000–2017. We identified people diagnosed with SMI, matched to non-SMI comparators. We compared incidence of delirium diagnoses between people with SMI diagnoses and comparators, and between SMI subtypes; schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ‘other psychosis’. We compared 30-day mortality following a hospitalisation involving delirium between people with SMI diagnoses and comparators, and between SMI subtypes.

We identified 20 566 people with SMI diagnoses, matched to 71 374 comparators. Risk of delirium diagnosis was higher for all SMI subtypes, with a higher risk conferred by SMI in the under 65-year group, (aHR:7.65, 95% CI 5.45–10.7, ⩾65-year group: aHR:3.35, 95% CI 2.77–4.05). Compared to people without SMI, people with an SMI diagnosis overall had no difference in 30-day mortality following a hospitalisation involving delirium (OR:0.66, 95% CI 0.38–1.14).

We found an association between SMI and delirium diagnoses. People with SMI may be more vulnerable to delirium when in hospital than people without SMI. There are limitations to using electronic healthcare records and further prospective study is needed to confirm these findings.

Children with prolonged hospital admissions for CHD often develop delirium. Antipsychotic medications (APMs) have been used to treat delirium but are known to prolong the QTc duration. There is concern for prolongation of the QTc interval in cardiac patients who may be more vulnerable to electrocardiogram (ECG) changes and may have postoperative QTc prolongation already. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of APM on QTc duration in postoperative paediatric cardiac patients and determine the effect of quetiapine and risperidone in treating delirium and QTc prolongation.

Retrospective study, July 1, 2017–May 31, 2022.

Tertiary children’s hospital.

Included were patients admitted to the paediatric cardiac ICU at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

None.

ECGs, delirium scores, and drug information were collected. Delirium was defined as Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium (CAPD) score >9. Mixed effect models were performed to evaluate the effect of surgery on QTc change and the effect of antipsychotics on QTc and CAPD changes. There were 139 children, 55% male and 67% surgical admissions. Median age was 5.9 months. Mean QTc increased after cardiac surgery by 18 ms (p = 0.014, 95% CI 3.65–32.4). There was no significant change in QTc after antipsychotic administration (p = 0.064). The mean CAPD score decreased (12.5–7.2; p < 0.001). Quetiapine had the most improvement in delirium, and risperidone had the least improvement (77.8%, n = 14; 37.8%, n = 34, respectively; p = 0.002).

The QTc interval did not have a statistically significant change after the administration of antipsychotics, while there was improvement in the CAPD score. APMs may be administered safely without significant prolongation of the QTc and are an effective treatment for delirium.

There is concern that hydroxyzine exacerbates delirium, but a recent preliminary study suggested that the combination of haloperidol and hydroxyzine was effective against delirium. This study examined whether the concomitant use of hydroxyzine and haloperidol worsened delirium in patients with cancer.

This retrospective, observational study was conducted at 2 general hospitals in Japan. The medical records of patients with cancer who received haloperidol for delirium from July to December 2020 were reviewed. The treatments for delirium included haloperidol alone or haloperidol combined with hydroxyzine. The primary outcome was the duration from the first day of haloperidol administration to the resolution of delirium, defined as its absence for 2 consecutive days. The time to delirium resolution was analyzed to compare the haloperidol group and hydroxyzine combination group using the log-rank test with the Kaplan–Meier method. Secondary outcomes were (1) the total dose of antipsychotic medications, including those other than haloperidol (measured in chlorpromazine-equivalent doses), and (2) the frequencies of detrimental incidents during delirium, specifically falls and self-removal of drip infusion lines. The unpaired t-test and Fisher’s exact test were used to analyze secondary outcomes.

Of 497 patients who received haloperidol, 118 (23.7%) also received hydroxyzine. No significant difference in time to delirium resolution was found between the haloperidol group and the hydroxyzine combination group (log-rank test, P = 0.631). No significant difference between groups was found in either chlorpromazine-equivalent doses or the frequency of detrimental incidents.

This study showed that the concomitant use of hydroxyzine and haloperidol did not worsen delirium in patients with cancer.