Managing Delirium in the Emergency Department: An Updated Narrative Review

We present a narrative review of recent literature of delirium prevention and treatment programs in the ED. We aim to describe the components of successful delirium management strategies to be used by EDs in building delirium management programs.Recent FindingsWe reviewed 10 studies (2005-2023) that report delirium interventions in the ED, and describe the different components of these interventions that have been studied. These interventions included: optimizing hemodynamics and oxygenation, treating pain, hydration and nutrition support, avoiding sedative hypnotics, antipsychotics and anticholinergics, promoting sleep, sensory stimulation, limiting the time spent in the ED, educating providers and staff, and developing multidisciplinary delirium protocols integrated into the electronic health record.SummaryThrough our narrative review of the recent literature on delirium prevention and treatment programs in the ED, we have identified nine components of successful delirium prevention strategies in the ED. We also discuss three high priority areas for further research including identification of most effective components of delirium prevention strategies, conduct of additional high-quality trials in non-hip
Source: Current Geriatrics Reports - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research