ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of delirium on clinical outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients in a Korean general hospital. METHODS: All patients admitted to ICU from March 1, 2013 to October 31, 2013 were assessed by Confusion Assessment Method adapted for use in the ICU for delirium daily, and consistently comatose patients were excluded for analysis. Differences in clinical outcomes (mortality, length of hospital stay, length of ICU stay) were analyzed between delirious patients and non-delirious patients. Subsequently, the impact of delirium on clinical outcomes was analyzed with adjusting for covariates including surgery, age, emergent admission, presence of surgery, and severity of illness. RESULTS: The analysis included 129 delirious patients and 469 non-delirious patients. As primary outcome, mortality, length of stay (hospital day, ICU-stay) were significantly high in the delirious group. The association remained the same after adjusting for the covariates. CONCLUSION: The results correspond with those of previous research studies conducted in foreign ICU. Based on this observation that delirium also has an impact on clinical outcomes in Korean ICU, integrative and in-depth investigation on ICU delirium will be needed.