Rutgers study seeks reduction and treatment of hospital-acquired delirium
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Hospital-acquired delirium is a common and dangerous condition that often goes unnoticed and untreated, an oversight that experts in geriatric medicine say is costing the health care system untold millions of dollars. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)
Once, the millions of hosptalized patients of a certain age who exhibited signs of confusion or agitation were merely thought to have pre-existing dementia. Doctors now realize that the experience of being treated in an intensive care unit can cause what is known as hoslital-acquired delirium.
There are efforts underway of focusing on and identifying causes with the intent of reducing the number of cases. Toward that end, a study has been released by Rutgers University medical school. We speak to the study’s co-author, Dr. Sarah B. Bryczkowski. She is also a medical surgery resident at the school.
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