Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population of patients with delirium (N = 77).
| Patient characteristics | Value | N | |
| Age (years) | mean (SD) | 78.5 (7.2) | 77 |
| range | 64–93 years | ||
| Sex – male | N (%) | 34 (44%) | 77 |
| Duration of admission | mean days (SD) | 38.6 (47.8) | 77 |
| median (interquartile range) | 24 (15–41) | ||
| range | 1–292 | ||
| Duration of Delirium | mean days (SD) | 6.3 (6.1) | 77 |
| median (interquartile range) | 5 (2–7) | ||
| range | 1–35 | ||
| Medications or alcohol as cause of delirium | N (%) | 30 (39%) | 76 |
| Cause of delirium | N (%) | 76 | |
| Medications, alcohol | 30 (39%) | ||
| Infection | 8 (11%) | ||
| Cardiac | 12 (16%) | ||
| Metabolic | 2 (3%) | ||
| Other | 24 (32%) | ||
| Agitation present | N (%) | 12 (18%) | 65 |
| Poor recognition of delirium | N (%) | 25 (32%) | 77 |
| GSS – Frailty | N (%) | 77 | |
| 1 – healthy, independent | 4 (5%) | ||
| 2 – mild impairment | 10 (13%) | ||
| 3 – moderate impair. | 26 (34%) | ||
| 4 – moderate-severe | 25 (33%) | ||
| 5 – severe impairment | 10 (13%) | ||
| 6 – totally dependent | 2 (3%) | ||
| 7 – terminally ill | 0 | ||
| Dementia | 77 | ||
| None | 44 (57%) | ||
| Mild dementia | 14 (18%) | ||
| Moderate dementia | 15 (19%) | ||
| Severe dementia | 4 (5%) | ||
| MMSE score/30 (SD) (on initial assessment) | range 0–27 | 12.5 (7.4) | 75 |
| Barthel Index score (SD) | range | ||
| Pre-morbid | 42–100 | 86.6 (17.4) | 77 |
| At hospital discharge | 0–100 | 78.9 (24.9) | 71 |
| At 6 month follow-up | 6–100 | 78.2 (22.3) | 50 |
| Mean change in Barthel Index (SD) | |||
| Pre-morbid to discharge | -8.9 (19.7) | 71 | |
| Pre-morbid to 6 month | -12.7 (16.9) | 50 | |
| Functional decline | N (%) | ||
| At hospital discharge | 26 (37%) | 70 | |
| At 6 months | 27 (54%) | 50 | |
GSS = Geriatric severity score [21]. MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination. SD = standard deviation.