[Effectiveness of IPD treatment for delirium prevention in hospitalized elderly. A controlled randomized clinical trial]

Abstract

Delirium is a common and serious complication for hospitalized elderly people. Early detection of risk and preventive treatment may significantly reduce delirium and its consequences. In Inouye's study of elderly people with delirium (1993), an interesting predictive model was proposed ,but never applied, for hospitalized elderly. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of IPD, a standardized package of caring activities, in the prevention of delirium in inpatient elderly The study consisted of an experimental controlled randomized trial with standardized treatment (Prevention of Delirium Interventions - IPD) with 30 subjects in the experimental group and 30 comparable subjects in the control group. Subjects were recruited if they obtained a score of 24 or less in the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). All the subjects have been assessed on the first, second, fourth and seventh day of their hospital stay according to the MMSE, Barthel Index, Tinetti Balance and Gait Scale, Neecham Confusion Scale, and Delirium Rating Scale. The method of assessment was the Confusion Assessment protocol. There was a statistically and clinically significant reduction in both the risk of delirium and related events in the treatment group compared to the control. Therefore, the IPD model proved to be highly effective in comparison to traditional care for elderly inpatients.