Delirium, a state of confusion and reduced awareness, is a preventable form of brain dysfunction that may affect acutely or critically ill patients. Among hospitalized patients, critically ill older adults (aged > 65 years) and those who receive mechanical ventilation with concurrent sedation have the highest risk of developing delirium. Patients with delirium have longer hospital lengths of stay, sustained impairments in cognitive function, and an increased risk of death. Despite the known damaging effects of delirium among the critically ill, delirium is often unrecognized and undertreated in more than two-thirds of acutely and critically ill patients.

In an effort to provide a systematic screening method and implement evidence-based nursing care, authors Smith and Grami designed an interventional cohort study to assess the effectiveness of a nurse-led bundle. The Grami-Smith Delirium Prevention Bundle is a multi-component intervention that contains a set of evidence-based nursing interventions to prevent delirium in critically...

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