Delirium Screening Practices For Older Adults In Emergency Departments Across United States: A Scoping Review

Authors

Azmat Sidhu, University of ArizonaFollow
Joy K. Luzingu, University of Arizona
Sheneil Agyemang, University of Arizona
Arushi M. Chalke, University of Arizona
Grace M. Leito, University of Arizona
Joseph A. Molina, University of Arizona
Zhao Chen, University of Arizona
Deborah Jean McClelland, University of Arizona
Nimit Agarwal, University of Arizona, Phoenix
Leah Steckler, George Washington University
Angela Wu, United States Acute Care Solutions

Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0004-1207-5082

Abstract

Delirium is commonly missed among older patients in the Emergency Department (ED). Identifying and managing patients with delirium in ED is critical to help improve health outcomes and prevent falls and readmission. There are several validated delirium screening tools but their utilization for assessing delirium in emergency department settings are still under investigation. The overall purpose of this review was to summarize information on current screening practices for delirium among older adults (65 or older) in EDs across United States and to identify current gaps in knowledge and evidence to help inform future research and practice. A comprehensive literature search for a scoping review was performed using PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. Studies describing the utilization of delirium screening tools in older adults aged 65 or older visiting emergency departments of US were included. A total of 1,430 studies were screened by title and abstract after the removal of duplicates and 10 publications were included in the final review out of the 14 full text publications which met our inclusion criteria. The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) or its variants were commonly used as diagnostic tools or reference standards in the selected studies. However, the sensitivity and specificity of these tools varied. Most studies addressed the utilities of delirium screening tools but provided limited information on the frequency of their use in ED settings. Additionally, there was minimal data on the actual practices of delirium screening and the impact of such screenings in ED.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Sidhu, Azmat; Luzingu, Joy K.; Agyemang, Sheneil; Chalke, Arushi M.; Leito, Grace M.; Molina, Joseph A.; Chen, Zhao; McClelland, Deborah Jean; Agarwal, Nimit; Steckler, Leah; and Wu, Angela (2024) "Delirium Screening Practices For Older Adults In Emergency Departments Across United States: A Scoping Review," Journal of Geriatric Emergency Medicine: Vol. 5: Iss. 4, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17294/2694-4715.1098
Available at: https://institutionalrepository.aah.org/jgem/vol5/iss4/8