This research would be participating in an international prospective study, currently assessing the benefits of the Delirium Diagnostic Tool-Provisional (DDT-Pro). This tool is being validated for its use in the ICU. It is a brief, highly structured diagnostic instrument designed to measure three clinical symptoms, each representing one of three core delirium symptom domains, using a continuous scoring. This research would be continued over the summer, assessing the tools sensitivity to clinical change by scoring a patient again after a time spent in ICU. Data will be entered into a standardised excel spreadsheet and analysed.
The second part of this research is based on an initial study carried out Summer 2021 which looked at prevalence and outcomes of Delirium in the ICU in Sligo University Hospital between October 2019 and March 2020. The prevalence of Delirium was low (17%). It was noted, cases of delirium may go undiagnosed due to the ICU environment prioritising stabilisation of patients over Delirium assessment.
An educational intervention was put in place and we wish to carry out a re evaluation to determine the benefits of this intervention by analysing up to date figures of delirium prevalence in the ICU.
Although the initial work serves as an initial baseline audit of prevalence of Delirium with the Gold Standard assessment of all patients in ICU, and phase 2 which I will carry out as a completion of the audit cycle. To our knowledge this work has not been done previously in am Irish setting
