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Approaches of Turkish anesthesiologists to delirium observed in intensive care unit patients
Critical Care volume 11, Article number: P418 (2007)
Objective
To determine attitudes and practices of the Turkish anesthesiologists and residents about delirium in the ICU.
Methods
An anonymous questionnaire consisting of 22 questions [1] was mailed to 258 anesthesiologists and residents.
Results
One hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned (60% response). Of the respondents, 57% were male and 61% were residents. One-half of respondents work in hospitals with more than 800 beds; 65% of respondents had an ICU facility of 7–12 beds. Seventy-two percent of the respondents had seen delirium in the ICU and also 70.2% of these respondents observed delirium in <25% of patients who were on mechanical ventilation. Although delirium was accepted a significant or very serious problem by 92.5% of the respondents, underdiagnosis was acknowledged by 74%. Routine screening for delirium was performed by 41.6% of the anesthesiologists and 88.1% of them were repeating daily. Clinical assessment was used in 76.7% of the screenings. Delirium was treated with haloperidol and benzodiazepine by 61.5% and 24% of the respondents. Of the respondents, 93.4% were not able to attend a meeting related to delirium and 67.6% did not read even an article about delirium.
Conclusion
Turkish anesthesiologists and residents consider delirium a relatively common and serious problem. However, they seldom perform screening tests and try to update their knowledge regarding delirium.
References
Ely EW, et al.: Crit Care Med. 2004, 32: 106-112. 10.1097/01.CCM.0000098033.94737.84
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Gokmen, N., Iyilikci, L., Kucukguclu, S. et al. Approaches of Turkish anesthesiologists to delirium observed in intensive care unit patients. Crit Care 11 (Suppl 2), P418 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1186/cc5578
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/cc5578