Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients with delirium.
| Demographic and clinical variables | Total | Perceptual disturbance and hallucinations (DRS-R-98): 0–3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not present | Mild perceptual disturbance | Illusions present | Hallucinations present | ||
| Number of patients (%) | 602 | ||||
| Male ratio [percent] | 57% | 55% | 61% | 37% | 56% |
| Mean age [years] (SD) | 75.9 (12.2) | 78.0 (11.7) | 75.2 (12.2) | 76.9 (10.8) | 74.2 (12.9) |
| Rate of patients drinking alcohol | |||||
| Habitual | 22% | 22% | 24% | 15% | 19% |
| Heavy | 7% | 5% | 5% | 11% | 10% |
| Dependence | 7% | 1% | 8% | 7% | 12% |
| Rate of patients with the following complications | |||||
| Chronic smoking | 49% | 44% | 51% | 33% | 53% |
| Visual impairment | 44% | 44% | 44% | 26% | 46% |
| Eye diseases | |||||
| Cataract | 16% | 16% | 14% | 7% | 20% |
| Diabetic retinopathy | 12% | 12% | 13% | 11% | 9% |
| Glaucoma | 5% | 5% | 4% | 11% | 8% |
| Other eye diseases | 10% | 10% | 8% | 7% | 13% |
| Rate of patients receiving treatment for eye diseases (e.g., eye drops) | 13% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 15% |
| Hearing impairment | 25% | 27% | 24% | 26% | 22% |
| Cerebrovascular disorder | 19% | 17% | 19% | 15% | 20% |
| Parkinson's disease | 2% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 4% |
| Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) | 1% | 0% | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Dementia excluding DLB | 46% | 46% | 51% | 37% | 39% |
| Psychiatric diagnosis before admission | 14% | 12% | 15% | 15% | 13% |
| Acute brain disorder before delirium developed during hospitalization | 17% | 14% | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Infection before delirium developed during hospitalization | 19% | 17% | 22% | 33% | 14% |
| Rate of patients who have stopped taking BZDs after admission (BZD withdrawal) | 21% | 15% | 22% | 22% | 28% |
| Rate of patients receiving cardiac surgery before delirium developed during hospitalization | 8% | 8% | 11% | 0% | 5% |
| Rate of patients receiving non-cardiac surgery before delirium developed during hospitalization | 21% | 29% | 15% | 22% | 23% |
| Rate of patients receiving general anesthesia before delirium developed during hospitalization | 25% | 33% | 22% | 7% | 22% |
| Rate of patients who were in intensive care units when delirium developed | 51% | 43% | 58% | 48% | 52% |
| Status of oral ingestion ability | |||||
| Patients in whom oral ingestion was possible | 69% | 69% | 65% | 85% | 72% |
| Patients in whom tube feeding was available | 10% | 8% | 12% | 4% | 10% |
| Patients in whom tube feeding was unavailable | 21% | 23% | 23% | 11% | 18% |
| Laboratory findings | |||||
| Average level of Alb [g/dL] (SD) | 3.0 (0.7) | 3.0 (0.7) | 3.0 (0.6) | 3.0 (0.7) | 3.1 (0.7) |
| Average level of Hb [g/dL] (SD) | 11.2 (2.4) | 11.0 (2.3) | 11.1 (2.4) | 11.1 (2.9) | 11.5 (2.4) |
SD, standard deviation; BZD, benzodiazepine; Ab, albumin; Hb, hemogrobin; DLB, dementia with Lewy body.