delirium

October 22, 2018

Antipsychotics ineffective for treating ICU delirium: study

Critically ill patients are not benefiting from antipsychotic medications that have been used to treat delirium in intensive care units (ICUs) for more than four decades, according to a study released today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

By Craig Boerner
October 4, 2018

New center formed to treat, study ICU delirium, dementia

Millions of patients in intensive care units each year develop delirium during their hospitalization and often leave the hospital with cognitive deficits similar to those suffering from traumatic brain injury or mild Alzheimer’s disease.

By Nancy Humphrey
hands of elderly white woman in hospital with oxygen monitor on finger and iv in arm
March 29, 2018

Sedative-associated delirium increases risk of dementia

A Vanderbilt study of more than 1,000 intensive care unit patients around the country, nearly three-fourths of whom experienced delirium, showed that many drugs given to sedate patients in the ICU are actually increasing their chances of — and duration of — delirium instead of helping them recover.

By Nancy Humphrey
arm with IV line
December 7, 2017

Study seeks to aid diagnosis, management of catatonia

Catatonia, a syndrome of motor, emotional and behavioral abnormalities frequently characterized by muscular rigidity and a trance-like mental stupor and at times manifesting with great excitement or agitation, can occur during a critical illness and appear similar to delirium. But the management strategies are vastly different.

By Nancy Humphrey
October 2, 2017

Delirium, benzos and the pediatric ICU

With other risk factors held equal, children who received a benzodiazepine sedative drug were nearly three times more likely to experience delirium – confused thought – the following day.

By Paul Govern
March 20, 2017

Delirium in the ED

Interventions for delirium in the emergency department setting are needed to preserve patients’ long-term function and cognition, Vanderbilt investigators have found.

By VUMC News and Communications
March 15, 2017

Delirium awareness promoted by Vanderbilt physicians

Today is the inaugural World Delirium Day, created to raise delirium awareness and inspire positive action among health care providers.
By VUMC News and Communications
September 13, 2016

Risk factors for delirium

High levels of blood markers for vascular endothelial dysfunction were associated with longer periods of confusion in ICU patients, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 17, 2014

Delirium increases long-term disability

Patients who suffer a longer duration of delirium in the intensive care unit are more likely to experience long-term disability after discharge.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2013

Study finds cognitive deficits common after critical illness

Patients treated in intensive care units across the globe enter their medical care with no evidence of cognitive impairment but often leave with deficits similar to those seen in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that persist for at least a year, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
By Craig Boerner
April 15, 2013

A role for blood vessels in delirium?

Dysfunction of the endothelial cells that line blood vessels may contribute to delirium and coma in critically ill patients – and could be a target for therapy.
By Leigh MacMillan
November 15, 2012

Grant to bolster care of ventilated ICU patients

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have received a $2.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to continue studying ways to improve sedation management for intensive care unit patients who are on mechanical ventilators.
By Jill Clendening
April 17, 2012

Pathways to delirium in the ICU

Study suggests that the “kynurenine” biochemical pathway could be a target for reducing delirium and coma in critically ill patients.
By Leigh MacMillan
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