Prevention and Management of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search methodology or primary empirical data.
PubMed 32746469 · doi:10.1055/s-0040-1710572
What was done
This narrative review summarizes predisposing and precipitating factors, pharmacologic interventions, current Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) guideline recommendations, and nonpharmacologic management protocols (namely the ABCDEF bundle) for delirium in adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values or effect sizes. It reports that current SCCM guidelines advise against the routine use of antipsychotics, that dexmedetomidine and other pharmacotherapies remain under investigation, and that implementation of the nonpharmacologic ABCDEF bundle reduces the odds of delirium and the duration of mechanical ventilation.
Why it matters
It reinforces modern critical care consensus moving away from routine antipsychotic administration in favor of structured, multicomponent nonpharmacologic interventions to mitigate ICU delirium and improve patient outcomes.
Limits
As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic search strategy, quality appraisal, and meta-analytic pooling. No specific sample sizes, effect sizes, confidence intervals, or quantitative endpoints are provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- context ICU psychosis is a transient condition caused in part by lack of natural sunlight and circadian disruption in intensive care units, which typically resolves once the patient leaves the hospital.