Table 2.

Association of Individual Complications and Complication Groups with Delirium Status One Month after Post-acute care Admission

Complications	Definition used in Medical Record Review	Incidence in patients with delirium at 1 month (N=197)	Incidence in patients without delirium at 1 month (N=153)
Cardiac Complications
Severe Hypertension	BP>200 systolic, 110 diastolic, requiring treatment	1.0% (2)	0.7% (1)
Hypotension	Systolic BP<90, or greater than 1/3 drop from admission, requiring immediate treatment	1.5% (3)	2.6% (4)
Unstable Angina	Cardiac chest pain at rest or with minimal exertion	0.5% (1)	1.3% (2)
New Arrhythmia	New sustained arrhythmia requiring treatment	0% (0)	0.7% (1)
Congestive Heart Failure	Symptomatic left or right sided heart failure requiring treatment	2.0% (4)	5.9% (9)
Myocardial infarction	New clinical myocardial infarction based on symptoms, electrocardiogram, and/or cardiac enzymes	0% (0)	0% (0)
Any Cardiac Complication		5% (10)	10% (15)
Non-cardiac complications
Deep Vein Thrombosis	Confirmed proximal lower extremity venous thrombosis	1.0% (2)	0% (0)
Pulmonary Embolism	Clinical pulmonary embolism confirmed by appropriate radiographic testing	0% (0)	0% (0)
Pneumonia	Clinical pneumonia confirmed by radiographic testing	6.1% (12)	4.6% 97)
Respiratory Failure	Respiratory failure requiring intubation or other ventilatory support	0.5% (1)	0% (0)
COPD Exacerbation	Respiratory exacerbation in patient with known COPD	0% (0)	0% (0)
Renal Failure	Worsening renal function requiring treatment	1.0% (2)	0% (0)
Stroke	New clinical stroke with appropriate confirmatory testing—consultation or radiographic	0% (0)	0% (0)
Gastrointestinal Bleed	Clinical gastrointestinal bleeding with accompanying drop in blood count—upper or lower source	1.0% (2)	0% (0)
Skin/Soft Tissue Infection	New clinical skin or soft tissue infection requiring antibiotics and/or local treatment	5.1% (10)	5.9% (9)
Bacteremia	Clinical sepsis confirmed with positive blood cultures	0% (0)	0% (0)
Urinary Tract Infection	New clinical urinary tract infection, usually confirmed by urine culture, requiring treatment	9.6% (19)	9.2% (14)
Fever	New fever to 101°F, not otherwise explained	1.0% (2)	0.7% (1)
Clostridium Difficile Colitis	Diarrheal illness with positive Clositridium difficile toxin assay requiring treatment	1.5% (3)	2.6% (4)
Hypoxia	Oxygen saturation <90%, requiring treatment	2.0% (4)	1.3% (2)
Any Non-Cardiac Complication		22.8% (45)	19% (29)
Geriatric Syndrome Complications
Dehydration	Clinically evident dehydration, supported by exam and laboratory data, requiring treatment	7.6% (15)	2.0% (3)
Pressure Ulcers	New Stage II or greater pressure ulcers noted in the medical record requiring treatment/management plan	7.6% (15)	4.6% (7)
Poorly Controlled Pain	Pain that is poorly controlled, requiring specialized management	2.5% (5)	2.6% (4)
Urinary Retention	Clinically recognized urinary retention requiring treatment with medication or catheterization	2.5% (5)	0% (0)
Fecal Impaction	Clinically recognized fecal impaction requiring treatment with enemas, suppositories, or laxatives	2.0% (4)	3.3% (5)
Malnutrition	Clinically recognized poor nutritional status requiring a specialized management plan	0.5% (1)	0% (0)
Aspiration	Clinically recognized aspiration, with supportive studies as indicated, and management	2.0% (4)	0% (0)
Falls	Clinically recognized falls, requiring evaluation and management plan	32% (63)	21% (32)
Any Geriatric Syndrome Complication		45% (89)	31% (47)

Table Abbreviations: BP—blood pressure; COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease