Objective: The objective was to derive a risk score that uses variables available early during the emergency department (ED) encounter to identify high-risk geriatric patients who may benefit from delirium screening.Methods: This was an observational study of older adults age ≥ 75 years who presented to an academic ED and who were screened for delirium during their ED visit. Variable selection from candidate predictors was performed through a LASSO-penalized logistic regression. A risk score was derived from the final prediction model, and predictive accuracy characteristics were calculated with 95 confidence intervals (CIs).Results: From the 967 eligible ED visits, delirium was detected in 107 (11.1). The area under the curve for the REcognizing DElirium in Emergency Medicine (REDEEM) score was 0.901 (95 CI = 0.864-0.938). The REEDEM risk score included 10 different variables (seven based on triage information and three obtained during early history taking) with a score ranging from -3 to 66. Using an optimal cutoff of ≥11, we found a sensitivity of 84.1 (90 of 107 ED delirium patients, 95 CI = 75.5-90.2) and a specificity of 86.6 (745 of 860 non-ED delirium patients, 95 CI = 84.1-88.8). A lower cutoff of >5 was found to minimize false negatives with an improved sensitivity at 91.6 (98 of 107 ED delirium patients, 95 CI = 84.2-95.8).Conclusion: A risk stratification score was derived with the potential to augment delirium recognition in geriatric ED patients. This has the potential to assist on delirium-targeted screening of high-risk patients in the ED. Validation of REDEEM, however, is needed prior to implementation.
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