The effect of scheduled visits on delirium intensity in elderly patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit: a clinical trial study

 Active participation of families can be an influencing factor on delirium in patients hospitalized in the ICU. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of scheduled visits on delirium intensity in elderly patients hospitalized in the ICU.
Methods & Materials: This clinical trial was conducted on 70 elderly patients hospitalized in the ICU of Ali ibn Abi Talib hospital in Rafsanjan from November 1, 2017 to March 1, 2018. In the intervention group, patients were visited in two out-of-schedule sessions for three days in the morning and night. The control group received routine visits for 3-5 minutes. To assess delirium, the Neecham questionnaire with a scoring scale of 19-30 was used. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software version18.

 There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, sex and educational level. Before the intervention and one day after the intervention, no significant difference was observed in delirium score between the two groups. However, on the second day in the intervention group, the median and interquartile range for delirium were 27(3) and in the control group were 25(2) (P<0.0001). On the third day after the intervention, differences between delirium score in the intervention and control groups were 27(3) and 25(3), respectively (P<0.0001).

 Scheduled visits can be considered an effective non-pharmacological method for preventing delirium in elderly patients hospitalized in the ICU. Clinical trial registry: IRCT20150519022320N7