The Impact of Delirium on Clinical Outcomes in Multi-Center Thai Surgical Intensive Care Units: A Prospective Cohort Study

Delirium in intensive care units (ICU) increases risks in prolonged mechanical ventilation, hospitalization, and mortality rate. The purpose of this study is to determine if delirium in the surgical intensive care units (SICU) is an independent predictor of clinical outcomes during hospitalization. A multi-center, prospective cohort study was conducted between April 2011 and January 2013. All patients who were admitted to nine university-based SICU were enrolled. Delirium was diagnosed by using the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklists. The clinical outcomes of study included length of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, ICU and 28 day mortality. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to assess the effects of delirium on ICU and 28 day mortality. A total of 4,652 patients were included. One hundred and sixty-three patients were diagnosed delirium (3.5%, 163 of 4,652). Patients who experienced delirium during ICU admission were significantly older (65.0+15.8 years versus 61.6+17.3 years, p = 0.013), had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (24.3% versus 12.2%, p