Contributed by Louise Rose, BN, MN, PhD, Professor in Critical Care Nursing, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London, London, UK Delirium is a common, costly and potentially preventable syndrome associated with short- and long-term adverse outcomes for patients, family members, and healthcare organizations. Reassuringly, the numbers of clinical trials […]
Author Archive: NIDUS Blogger
Possible role for the CNS arousal network in delirium
Contributed by Olga Boukrina, Ph.D., Kessler Foundation Delirium is a multicomponent syndrome produced by a set of unique vulnerabilities (e.g., infection, advanced age, decreased cognitive functioning) and compounding causes (e.g., circadian dysregulation, oxidative stress, neuronal aging). The contribution of each individual factor and their interactions present a complicated picture, but unifying themes in this line […]
Delirium Research Hub Spotlight – Olga Boukrina, PhD
Every other month, the Delirium Research Hub selects an investigator and research study included in the Delirium Research Hub to feature as a Spotlight Investigator. This month, we are featuring Dr. Olga Boukrina, PhD, for her study “Neglect and Delirium,” which investigates a potential neural mechanism underlying the link between delirium and spatial neglect in […]
Systematic Review of Delirium Severity Measurement
Contributed by Heidi Lindroth PhD, RN, Postdoctoral Fellow at Indiana University School of Nursing and Indiana University School of Medicine, Center for Aging Research Upwards of 4 million hospitalized adults experience delirium, a form of acute brain failure each year.1-3 The measurement of delirium severity, defined as the intensity of a delirious episode, is growing […]
2018 American Delirium Society Conference
Contributed by Heidi Lindroth, BSN, RN, PhD Candidate, School of Nursing, Program Assistant, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Anesthesiology at The University of Wisconsin-Madison The American Delirium Society (ADS) annual conference was held in June 2018 to share the latest advancements in delirium science. A wide variety of topics from delirium training […]
MRI and Delirium: An Interview with Dr. Michele Cavallari
Contributed by Olga Boukrina, PhD, Research Scientist, Stroke Rehabilitation Research at The Kessler Foundation Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers an objective and quantitative measurement of brain health. The progress in MR imaging has made it possible to not only accurately measure brain volume, but also to assess the integrity of white matter connections in the […]
Studying the Delirious Brain: Neuroimaging
Contributed by Madeline D’Aquila, BS, Clinical Research Associate II & Annie Racine, PhD, MPA, both of the Institute for Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Although successful programs¹ to prevent delirium have been developed and implemented, advances in new prevention or treatment approaches have been stymied by a poor understanding of delirium pathophysiology. Neuroimaging […]
Patient Family Perspective on the Delirium Experience
Contributed by Namrata Patil, MD MPH of Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Faculty at Harvard Medical School, Boston. “Doctor, is he still like that? If he is still the same I am not coming in….,” her voice cracks as she breaks into sobs on the other side of the phone. My patient’s wife does […]
World Delirium Awareness Day (#WDAD2018)
This post was contributed by Heidi Lindroth, PhD Candidate, RN, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Anesthesiology School of Nursing. “…My eyes were open, but what they saw was not real. My delirium was filled with paranoia, fright and joy. In the ICU, I just knew I heard my […]
2017 in Review: Progress toward Delirium Prevention
This post was contributed by Heidi Lindroth, PhD Candidate, RN, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Anesthesiology School of Nursing. Let’s ring in the New Year 2018 with a review of research from 2017 focused on delirium prevention. Often, when I talk to others about the confusion and distress experienced by […]