Postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery; incidence, management and prevention

Abstract

Delirium is an acute neurological state branded as confusion, distraction, and varied consciousness. Other symptoms include disorientation, memory impairment, perceptual disturbances, altered psychomotor activity, and sleep disturbances. Gilman was the first person to report delirium as a complication of cardiac surgery in 1965. Despite peri-operative advancements, including both surgical and anesthetic, delirium is a frequent post cardiac surgery complication.

Delirium is a common menace in the cardiac surgical ICU and outcome consequences of greater number of morbidity and mortality. Recent research has identified possible hazards for the occurrence of delirium and strategies to treat it. However, more studies are required to standardize the risk factors, its occurrence and treatment strategies in post cardiac surgical patients.