A network meta-analysis of intensive nursing interventions for delirium in ICU patients

Item Type: Journal Article

Authors: Wang, Rui;Wu, Jiang and Huang, Jingmin

Publication Date: 2026

Journal: Medicine 105(39), pp. e50667

Abstract: 

Background Delirium prevalence in the intensive care unit (ICU) is high. Intensive nursing interventions have been performed to reduce delirium in ICU patients. There is now a wide variety of intensive nursing interventions available for treating delirium. However, the optimal intervention remains unknown. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to compare the efficacy of intensive nursing interventions in patients with delirium. 

Methods We included randomized controlled trials of different intensive nursing interventions for delirium in the ICU. A Bayesian NMA was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of various types of intensive nursing interventions. The outcomes assessed were the cure rate, intensive care delirium screening checklist (ICDSC) scores, and acute physiologic assessment and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) scores for different treatments. 

Results This meta-analysis included 21 studies. We analyzed a total of 5 different intensive nursing interventions: auricular points acupressure, music therapy, cognitive function exercise, regular nursing, increasing visiting hours, and targeted nursing. When compared with regular nursing, the other 5 intensive nursing interventions showed no significant difference in cure rate, ICDSC, and APACHE II scores (P > .05). Auricular points acupressure had the highest surface under the cumulative ranking area value for cure rate and APACHE II, indicating it ranked first in these outcomes. Music therapy demonstrated the most favorable effect on reducing ICDSC, with music therapy ranking first in this regard. 

Conclusion This NMA suggests that auricular points acupressure might be the optimal intervention for increasing the cure rate and decreasing ICDSC and APACHE II scores in ICU patients with delirium. However, the surface under the cumulative ranking area values reflect relative ranking rather than absolute efficacy, and no intervention demonstrated statistically significant superiority over regular nursing. Additionally, increasing visiting hours appears to hold promise as an effective intervention for reducing delirium in the ICU. Further research and larger studies are warranted to confirm these findings and to explore the long-term benefits of these intensive nursing interventions in delirium management.

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