OBJECTIVES:
Both delirium duration and delirium severity are associated with adverse patient outcomes. Serum biomarkers associated with delirium duration and delirium severity in ICU patients have not been reliably identified. We conducted our study to identify peripheral biomarkers representing systemic inflammation, impaired neuroprotection, and astrocyte activation associated with delirium duration, delirium severity, and in-hospital mortality.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
We analyzed the associations between biomarkers collected at delirium onset and delirium-/coma-free days assessed through Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale/Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU, delirium severity assessed through Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7, and in-hospital mortality. After adjusting for age, gender, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, Charlson comorbidity score, sepsis diagnosis and study intervention group, interleukin-6, -8, and -10, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein, and S-100β levels in quartile 4 were negatively associated with delirium-/coma-free days by 1 week and 30 days post enrollment. Insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in quartile 4 were not associated with delirium-/coma-free days at both time points. Interleukin-6, -8, and -10, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein, and S-100β levels in quartile 4 were also associated with delirium severity by 1 week. At hospital discharge, interleukin-6, -8, and -10 retained the association but tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein, and S-100β lost their associations with delirium severity. Insulin-like growth factor-1 levels in quartile 4 were not associated with delirium severity at both time points. Interleukin-8 and S-100β levels in quartile 4 were also associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Interleukin-6 and -10, tumor necrosis factor-α, and insulin-like growth factor-1 were not found to be associated with in-hospital mortality.

CONCLUSIONS:
Biomarkers of systemic inflammation and those for astrocyte and glial activation were associated with longer delirium duration, higher delirium severity, and in-hospital mortality. Utility of these biomarkers early in delirium onset to identify patients at a higher risk of severe and prolonged delirium, and delirium related complications during hospitalization needs to be explored in future studies.

PMID:31770149

DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000004139

OBJECTIVES:
Poststroke delirium may be underdiagnosed due to the challenges of disentangling delirium symptoms from underlying neurologic deficits. We aimed to determine the prevalence of individual delirium features and the frequency with which they could not be assessed in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

DESIGN:
Prospective observational cohort study.

SETTING:
Neurocritical Care and Stroke Units at a university hospital.

PATIENTS:
Consecutive patients with intracerebral hemorrhage from February 2018 to May 2018.

INTERVENTIONS:
None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
An attending neurointensivist performed 257 total daily assessments for delirium on 60 patients (mean age 68.0 [SD 18.4], 62% male, median intracerebral hemorrhage score 1.5 [interquartile range 1-2], delirium prevalence 57% [n = 34]). Each assessment included the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU, Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist, a focused bedside cognitive examination, chart review, and nurse interview. We characterized individual symptom prevalence and established delirium diagnoses using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition criteria, then compared performance of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU and Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist against reference-standard expert diagnosis. Symptom fluctuation (61% of all assessments), psychomotor changes (46%), sleep-wake disturbances (46%), and impaired arousal (37%) had the highest prevalence and were never rated “unable to assess,” while inattention (36%), disorientation (27%), and disorganized thinking (18%) were also common but were often rated ‘unable to assess’ (32%, 43%, and 44% of assessments, respectively), most frequently due to aphasia (32% of patients). Including nonverbal assessments of attention decreased the frequency of ‘unable to assess’ ratings to 11%. Since the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist may be positive without the presence of symptoms that require verbal assessment, it was more accurate (sensitivity = 77%, specificity = 97%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.87) than the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (sensitivity = 41%, specificity = 88%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.64).

CONCLUSIONS:
Delirium is common after intracerebral hemorrhage, but severe neurologic deficits may confound its assessment and lead to underdiagnosis. The Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist’s inclusion of nonverbal features may make it more accurate than the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU in patients with neurologic deficits, but novel tools designed for such patients may be warranted.

PMID: 31567406