Persistence of Delirium after Cessation of Sedatives and Analgesics and Impact on Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov February 9, 2018

As delirium is a common manifestation in critically ill patients and is associated with worse clinical outcomes, we sought to characterize the reversibility of delirium after discontinuation of sedation and to determine whether sedation-associated delirium that rapidly reverses impacts clinical outcomes. Despite the cessation of medications for continuous sedation, delirium persisted for the majority of patients and was associated with worse outcomes, which attests to the importance of strategies to minimize sedation.