Delirium and early diagnosis in the Intensive Care Unit: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the pattern of diagnostic tests used for the early diagnosis of delirium in the ICU, relating it to age. Evaluating, thus, which method promotes a reliable result. Methods: The methodological approach of this work proposes a compilation of bibliographic research of a qualitative and descriptive nature through an integrative literature review in databases such as the National Library of Medicine, Virtual Health Library and Directory of Open Access Journals. The descriptors used were “Delirium”, “Intensive Care Units” and “Early Diagnosis”. The inclusion criteria were clinical study articles, newspaper article, clinical trial, free access articles, articles published in English, Portuguese and Spanish from 2012 to 2022. Results: Of the 11 selected articles, three articles reported on the PRE-DELIRIC method as the best diagnostic test. Among these articles, the main observation is that among the diagnostic tests observed, this one is used to screen patients at high risk of developing delirium and has a moderate to good performance in its objective. Final considerations: Thus, in order to establish an early and reliable diagnosis, it is important to perform a guided neurological examination, called PRE DELIRIC, to observe the risk factors and preceptors for this syndrome.