A Cross-Sectional, Retrospective, and Comparative Study between Delirium and Non-Delirium Psychiatric Disorders in a Psychogeriatric Inpatient Population Referred to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Unit.

Background and objectives: Delirium is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder in inpatient older people. Its presence is associated with higher rates of institutionalization, functional disability and mortality. This study aims to evaluate delirium in a hospitalized psychogeriatric population, focusing on which factors predict the appearance of delirium, the impact it generates and the diagnostic concordance between non-psychiatric physicians and psychiatrists. Material and methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional, retrospective, and comparative study. We obtained data from a sample of 1017 patients (≥65 years) admitted to general hospital and referred from different services to the consultation-liaison psychiatry (CLP) unit. Logistic regression was performed using delirium as the dependent variable. To estimate the concordance of the diagnoses, the Kappa coefficient was used. To assess the impact of delirium, an ordinal regression, Wilcoxon median test and Fisher's test were performed. Results: Delirium is associated with a higher number of visits, OR 3.04 (95% CI 2.38-3.88), longer length of stay and mortality, OR 2.07 (95% CI, 1.05 to 4.10). The model to predict delirium shows that being >75 years old has an OR of 2.1 (95% CI, 1.59-2.79), physical disability has an OR of 1.66 (95% CI, 1.25-2.20), history of delirium has an OR of 10.56 (95% CI, 5.26-21.18) and no use of benzodiazepines has an OR of 4.24 (95% CI, 2.92-6.14). The concordance between the referring physician's psychiatric diagnosis and the psychiatrist CLP unit showed a kappa of 0.30. When analysing depression and delirium, the concordance showed Kappa = 0.46. Conclusions: Delirium is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder, but it is still underdiagnosed, with low diagnostic concordance between non-psychiatric doctors and psychiatrists from CLP units. There are multiple risk factors associated with the appearance of delirium, which must be managed to reduce its appearance.

Clinical Profile and Length of Hospital Stay in a Sample of Psychogeriatric Patients Referred to Consultation Liaison Psychiatric Unit.

Background and objectives: There has been a recent increase in older patients admitted to general hospitals. A significant percentage of hospitalized older patients are ≥75 years old, which differ from the patients aged 65 to 74 years old in terms of functional status at patient discharge. This study aims to compare sociodemographic, clinical features, and factors associated with length of hospital stay in youngest-old and oldest-old populations of inpatients referred to the consultation liaison psychiatry unit. Material and methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional, retrospective, and comparative study. We obtained data from a sample of 1017 patients (≥65 years) admitted to a general hospital and referred from different services (medicine, surgery, etc.) to the consultation liaison psychiatry unit. The sample was divided into two groups of patients: youngest-old (65-74 years) and oldest-old (≥75 years). Psychiatric evaluations were performed while the patients were on wards at the hospital. Psychopharmacs were started as needed. A comparative analysis was carried out and predictive factors related to length of hospital stay were calculated. Results: The reference rate to consultation liaison psychiatry unit was 1.45% of the total older patients hospitalized. Our study demonstrates differences between the groups of older people: the oldest-old group were mainly female (p < 0.001), had more previous psychiatric diagnoses (p < 0.001), physical disabilities (p = 0.02), and neurocognitive disorders (p < 0.001), they used more antipsychotics (p < 0.001), and more frequently had a discharge disposition to a nursing home (p = 0.036). The presence of physical disability (beta = 0.07, p < 0.001) and logtime to referral to consultation liaison psychiatry unit (beta = 0.58, p < 0.001) were associated with increased length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Youngest-old and oldest-old people should be considered as two different types of patients when we consider clinical features. The time to referral to consultation liaison psychiatry unit seems to be a relevant factor associated with length of hospital stay.