Other bulletins in this series include:

Breast Surgery

Friday 7 March 2008

Prevalence rate of delirium at two hospitals in Western Australia

Article not specific to ICU

Authors: Speed, Gaye; Wynaden, Dianne; McGowan, Sunita; Hare, Malcolm; Landsborough, Ian
Source: Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 25, Number 1, September 2007 , pp. 38-43(6)
Publisher: Australian Nursing Federation

Abstract:
To estimate the prevalence of delirium in patients on 15 medical and surgical wards at two hospitals in Western Australia.

Design
Following a review of the literature on delirium a standardised data collection tool was developed and four prevalence audits were conducted over a four week period at the target hospitals. The nurse coordinator on each ward was asked to identify any patient who was experiencing a delirium or who was confused. These patient's records were then examined for documentation that confirmed the presence of delirium or confusion.

No comments: