Le delirium aux soins intensifs

Delirium and “sub-syndromal delirium” are among the most frequent complications of admission to intensive care. The association between clinical delirium manifestations and increased morbidity and mortality is known since Hippocratic times. This association among the critically ill requires screening with scales validated in mechanically ventilated patients like the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) or the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU); a recognition of the increased risk in alcoholics, hypertensive patients, and smokers; careful management of depth of sedation in order to avoid iatrogenic coma; reassurance of patients and their families, as well as careful team assessments as to response to pharmacological and not-pharmacological therapies based on the clinical evolution of the individual patient.