Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:56:02.475Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Evaluation of the delirium early monitoring system (DEMS)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2016

Daniel Rippon
Affiliation:
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Koen Milisen
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Academic Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Division of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Elke Detroyer
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Academic Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Elizabeta Mukaetova-Ladinska
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Beth Harrison
Affiliation:
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Marieke Schuurmans
Affiliation:
University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Claire Pryor
Affiliation:
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Andrew Teodorczuk*
Affiliation:
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK School of Medicine and Health Institute for the Development of Education and Scholarship (Health IDEAS), Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Andrew Teodorczuk, School of Medicine, G40, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia. Phone: +61 756780891. Email: [email protected].

Abstract

Background:

Despite awareness of the negative health and financial outcomes of delirium, systems to routinely assess and manage the condition are absent in clinical practice. We report the development and pilot evaluation of a Delirium Early Monitoring System (DEMS), designed to be completed by non-medical staff to influence clinical processes within inpatient settings. Two versions of the DEMS are described based on a modified Confusion Assessment Method (DEMS-CAM) and Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DEMS-DOSS).

Methods:

Both versions of DEMS were piloted on a 20-bedded Psychogeriatric ward over 6 weeks. Training was administered to ward staff on the use of each version of the DEMS and data were collected via electronic medical records and completed assessment sheets. The primary outcome was patterns of DEMS use and the secondary outcome was the initiation of delirium management protocols. Data regarding the use of the DEMS DOSS and DEMS CAMS were analyzed using χ2 tests.

Results:

Completion rates for the DEMS CAM and DEMS DOSS were 79% and 68%, respectively. Non-medical staff were significantly more likely to use the DEMS-CAM as part of daily practice as opposed to the DEMS-DOSS (p<0.001). However, there was no difference between the use of the DEMS-CAM and DEMS-DOSS in triggering related actions such as documentation of assessment scores in patients’ medical records and implementation of delirium management protocols.

Conclusions:

This real world evaluation revealed that non-medical staff were able to incorporate delirium monitoring into their practice, on the majority of occasions, as part of their daily working routine. Further research is necessary to determine if the routine use of the DEMS can lead to improved understandings and practice of non-medical staff regarding delirium detection.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, L., Silva, S. G., Kaplan, S. and Zimbro, K. (2015). Delirium monitoring and patient outcomes in a general intensive care unit. American Journal of Critical Care, 24, 4856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Billett, S. (2014). Learning in circumstances of practice. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33, 674693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, N., Blanchard, M. A. T. and Sampson, E. (2010). Detection of delirium in the acute hospital. Age Ageing, 39, 131135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elie, M., Rousseau, F., Cole, M., Primeau, F., McCusker, J. and Bellavance, F. (2000). Prevalence and detection of delirium in elderly emergency department patients. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 163, 977981.Google ScholarPubMed
Han, J. H., Schnelle, J. F. and Ely, E. W. (2014). The relationship between a chief complaint of "altered mental status" and delirium in older emergency department patients. Academic Emergency Medicine, 21, 937940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inouye, S. K., van Dyck, C. H., Alessi, C. A., Balkin, S., Siegal, A. P. and Horwitz, R. I. (1990). Clarifying confusion: the confusion assessment method. A new method for detection of delirium. Annals of Internal Medicine, 113, 941948.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kales, H. C., Kamholz, B. A., Visnic, S. G. and Blow, F. C. (2003). Recorded delirium in a national sample of elderly inpatients: potential implications for recognition. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 16, 3238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, V., Schneider, J., Scales, K., Bailey, S. and Jones, R. (2011). Ingroup identity as an obstacle to effective multiprofessional and interprofessional teamwork: findings from an ethnographic study of healthcare assistants in dementia care. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 25, 345351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacLullich, A. M. and Hall, R. J. (2011). Who understands delirium? Age Ageing, 40, 412414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NICE. (2010). Delirium: diagnosis, prevention and management. (Clinical guideline 103). London: NICE.Google Scholar
Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2013). National audit of dementia care: London.Google Scholar
Schuurmans, M. J., Shortridge-Baggett, L. M. and Duursma, S. A. (2003). The delirium observation screening scale: a screening instrument for delirium. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 17, 3150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siddiqi, N., House, A. and Holmes, J. (2006). Occurence and outcome of delirium in medical in-patients: a systematic literature review. Age Ageing, 35, 350364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Subbe, C. P., Kruger, M., Rutherford, P. and , L. G. (2001). Validation of a modified early warning score in medical admissions. International Journal of Medicine, 94, 521526.Google ScholarPubMed
Teodorczuk, A., Corbett, S., Welfare, M. and Mukaetova Ladinska, E. (2013). Reconceptualising models of delirium education: findings of a grounded theory study. International Psychogeriatrics, 25, 645655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teodorczuk, A., Mukaetova-Ladinska, E., Corbett, S. and Welfare, M. (2014). Deconstructing dementia and delirium hospital practice: using cultural historical activity theory to inform education approaches. Advances in Health Sciences Education Theory and Practice, 20, 745764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teodorczuk, A., Reynish, E. and Milisen, K. (2012). Improving recognition of delirium in clinical practice: a call for action. BMC Geriatrics, 12, 55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witlox, J., Eurelings, L. S., de Jonghe, J. F., Kalisvaart, K. J., Eikelenboom, P. and van Gool, W. A. (2010). Delirium in elderly patients and the risk of postdischarge mortality, institutionalization, and dementia: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 304, 443451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, C. L., Holroyd-Leduc, J., Simel, D. L. and Straus, S. E. (2010). Does this patient have delirium?: value of bedside instruments. JAMA, 304, 779786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, J. and Inouye, S. K. (2007). Delirium in older people. British Medical Journal, 334, 842846.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed