The association between delirium and cognitive decline: a review of the empirical literature.
Delirium is a common neurobehavioral syndrome that occurs across health care settings which is associated with adverse outcomes, including death. There are limited data on long-term cognitive outcomes following delirium. This report reviews the literature regarding relationships between delirium and cognitive impairment. Psych Info and Medline searches and investigation of secondary references for all English language articles on delirium and subsequent cognitive impairment were carried out. Nine papers met inclusion criteria and documented cognitive impairment in patients following delirium. Four papers reported greater cognitive impairment among patients with delirium than matched controls. Four papers reported higher incidence of dementia in patients with a history of delirium. One study found 1 of 3 survivors of critical illness with delirium developed cognitive impairment. The evidence suggests a relationship between delirium and cognitive impairment, although significant questions remain regarding the nature of this association. Additional research on delirium-related effects on long-term cognitive outcome is needed.
Jackson
James C
JC
Division of Allergy/Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Center for Health Services Research, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-8300, USA. james.c.jackson@vanderbilt.edu
Gordon
Sharon M
SM
Hart
Robert P
RP
Hopkins
Ramona O
RO
Ely
E Wesley
EW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003693:Delirium / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires