Hundreds of patients are suffering undiagnosed delirium every year in Australian hospitals, leaving them vulnerable to serious complications and death.
39%
One in every four hip fracture patients is not being assessed for delirium before surgery, new data shows.Among Australian patients who did undergo cognitive assessment, more than one-third were diagnosed with delirium, the report found. It is based on 15,300 hip fractures across 93 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand in 2021 and compiled by Neuroscience Research Australia.
“If you fail to pick it up and manage it you end up with patients who will develop things like pressure injuries, malnutrition, pneumonia from lying in bed ... and the worst outcome is death.“The idea that we would admit somebody to hospital, and we wouldn’t check their heart or their lungs is unthinkable, but we don’t afford the brain the same respect for hip fracture patients.”hip fracture patients.
An estimated 20,000 people fracture their hip each year in Australia and New Zealand. As the population ages, those figures are expected to rise. “It’s important to treat the underlying cause of delirium as soon as possible, if you can,” Caplan said. “You need to look for an infection – usually a urinary or chest infection – or it might be a sedating medication that is too strong,” he said.
“We have underestimated how dependent we are on families and carers when people are in hospital. Things like feeding and encouraging people to get up and walk.”
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