Delirium in intensive care: use of the 'Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit' by the nurse

Objective: The study's goal has been to gain further understanding regarding the nurses' grasp about the critical patient undergoing delirium events, and also the use of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit. Methods: It is a descriptive-exploratory study, also prospective and with both qualitative and quantitative approach. The sampling was the nurses of an Intensive Care Unit; the sample consisted of16 nurses who accepted to participate in all stages of the research. A pretest and another post-test were performed applying the data collection instrument consisting of 1 discursive question and 8 objective ones. In order to perform the data analysis were used content analysis and basic statistics. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee from the Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernesto, under the Legal Opinion No. 1.360.441. Results: In a comparison between the pretest and post-test, it was noticed that after the test the group was more prepared to identify delirium and with a higher degree ofknowledge about the topic. Conclusion: The content update was shown as a tool for transforming clinical practice. It is very important to emphasize the need of continuing education in order to ensure the promotion of knowledge and quality in nursing care.