Although delirium has been recognized as a complication of medical illness for at least 2500 yrs, it is only recently that delirium has become generally recognized as a common and significant problem among critically ill patients. Among those patients older than 65 yrs admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU), delirium is reported to occur 15% to 53% of the time and results in distress to family members, increased costs, and poor long-term outcomes. Medicare expenditures for all cases of delirium in the US during 2004 have been estimated to be Dollars 6.9 billion and are expected to increase. Recent practice guidelines published by the American College of Critical Care Medicine recommend routine assessment for the presence of delirium for clinicians to improve on these unfavorable outcomes. Internationally, several tools have been developed or translated to aid in the detection of delirium in ICU patients.
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