Identifying and Responding to Delirium in Acute Stroke: Clinical Team Members' Understandings.

ABSTRACT: Delirium is associated with increased mortality, morbidity, and length of hospital stay. In the acute stroke setting, delirium identification is challenging due to the complexity of cognitive screening in this patient group. The aim of this study was to explore how members of interprofessional stroke-unit teams identified and responded to a potential delirium in a patient. Online focus groups and interviews utilizing case vignettes were conducted with 15 participants: nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and physiotherapists working in acute stroke services. Participants' understandings of delirium varied, most participants did not identify the symptoms of a possible hypoactive delirium, and nearly all participants discussed delirium symptoms in tentative terms.

SUBMITTER: Carin-Levy G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7750676 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature