Psychotropics are often used among dementia in order to reduce behavior problems. In patients with dementia, hospital admission is a stressful event, for hospitalization cause as well as for environment change. Consequently, delirium risk is high and this is proportional to dementia stage. In addition, it ́s known psychotropics promote delirium.

To evaluate if the patients admitted to an acute geriatric unit develop more delirium depending on dementia diagnosis and dementia stage and depending on the use of psychotropics. To analize if dementia and psychotropics are two independent risk factors for the development of delirium.

We selected all the patients admitted in the Acute Geriatric Unit of HUN during May and June of two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). We collected demographic, administrative, functional and pathological variables, as well as the onset of delirium: delirium signs on admission (DSA) and delirium diagnosis on discharge (DDD) and psychotropics use. A descriptive study was carried out to analyze the relationship between dementia and its stage (GDS), psychotropics use and delirium.

658 patients were recluted with a medium age of 87.8, 55.6% were females, 44.5% had dementia. The mean hospital stay was 5.8 days and 11.7% died. Functionally, the mean Barthel was 56.5 and Lawton 1.49. Regarding comorbidities, the most frequent ones were arterial hypertension(81%), Osteoarthritis(55%) and heart failure(51%). The main delirium predisposing factors were: age more than 80(93.5%), polypharmacy(87.5%), and neurological disease(47%). Comparing: -Dementia and non-dementia-patients: DSA(55.7%vs23.7;p0,000), DDD (43.7%vs17.5%;p0.000) -GDS 4-5 and GDS 6-7: DSA(52.7%vs57.2;p0.435), DDD (50.4%vs37.9%;p0.031). -Psychotropics-users and non-psychotropics-users: DSA(42.3%vs27.4%), DDD(31.6%vs22,5%). Night psychotropics DSA(41.8%vs31%), DDD(31.7%vs24%); neuroleptics DSA(53.1%vs33.6), DDD(45.2%vs24.3%); anticholinesterase DSA(51%vs36.9%), DDD(45.1%vs27.7%). All of them p<0.05.

Dementia and psychotropics are predisposing factors for delirium. Its effect is additive. Neuroleptics have the clearest relationship with delirium. We observed, as dementia was more severe, the risk of delirium was greater but the use of neuroleptics decreased. This could be due to the presence of more hypoactive phases in final stages.