Incidence and Risk Factors of Postoperative Delirium in Patients Undergoing Non-Emergency Surgery
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Abstract
This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the incidence and risk factors of postoperative delirium in patients undergoing non-emergency surgery. The sample consisted of 676 patients admitted to the internal surgical wards of Vajira Hospital, Faculty of Medicine. Eligible participants were recruited through purposive sampling between February 2021 and September 2022. The research instruments included: 1) personal information and medical history, and 2) the Thai version of the short-form Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), which showed inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s kappa) at 1.00. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binomial generalized linear regression analysis.
The results revealed that the incidence of postoperative delirium in patients with elective surgery was 2.67%. Statistically significant risk factors for delirium (p < .05) included ASA classification III–IV (RRadj.= 9.41, 95% CI = 2.02–43.93, p = .004), hearing impairment (RRadj.= 9.05, 95% CI = 2.59–31.70, p = .001), pulmonary disease (RRadj.= 8.68, 95% CI = 1.14–66.15, p = .037), visual impairment (RRadj.= 4.64, 95% CI = 1.32–16.31, p = .017), and hypertension (RRadj.= 3.40, 95% CI = 1.37–8.43, p = .008).
These findings emphasize that surgical nurses should prioritize assessing comorbid conditions, sensory impairments (hearing and vision), and surgical risk levels to prevent postoperative delirium in patients undergoing non-emergency surgery.
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