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Non-pharmacological Prevention of Postoperative Delirium by Occupational Therapy Teams

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Aging Disorder
Postoperative Delirium
Interventions
Behavioral: Standard non-pharmacological prevention intervention
Behavioral: Occupational therapy intervention
Registration Number
NCT03704090
Lead Sponsor
University of Chile
Brief Summary

In the world, 230 million surgeries are performed every year and US data indicates that more than a third of patients who undergo surgery are older than 65 years, in which between 10 and 70% develop postoperative delirium (POD). Patients who develop POD have poor outcomes, such as a longer hospital stay, a deterioration in functional and cognitive status, high mortality rates, and an increase in health costs.

Delirium is an entity that in a significant percentage is preventable, thus preventing the development of POD is fundamental. In fact, in older adults hospitalized in the no surgical ward, the implementation of non-pharmacological prevention measures of delirium has consistently shown to significantly prevent the development of this condition. However, limited information is available about the usefulness of non-pharmacological intervention protocols applied in the perioperative context to prevent POD.

The main aim of this project is to determine whether the application of non-pharmacological measures during the perioperative period prevents POD in elderly patients undergoing highly complex elective surgeries.

The hypothesis is that the application of these measures decreases the incidence of delirium in this population.

Detailed Description

To determine whether non-pharmacological measures decrease the incidence of POD during the perioperative period in elderly patients undergoing highly complex elective surgeries, it will be performed a randomized clinical trial, where two groups of patients older than 75 years undergoing highly complex elective surgeries will be compared:

1. The first group will receive a protocol of non-pharmacological interventions implemented by occupational therapy teams to prevent delirium plus standard non-pharmacological prevention interventions.

2. The second group will only receive standard non-pharmacological prevention interventions.

This study will be carried out in the surgical units of the Hospital Clinico de la Universidad de Chile (HCUCH) and in the Hospital San Jose (HSJ).

The expected result is to demonstrate that the interventions carried out by occupational therapists decrease the incidence of DPO in a significant way in comparison with standard prevention intervention.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
160
Inclusion Criteria
  • Hospital admission for highly complex elective surgery
Exclusion Criteria
  • History of cognitive impairment.
  • A low score in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): <23 points if the patient has 6 or more years of schooling, and <18 points if the patient has <6 years of schooling.
  • Severe communication disorder and cultural language limitation (language other than Spanish).
  • Delirium on admission or prior to the start of the intervention (measured with CAM).
  • Patient enrolled in another study

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ControlStandard non-pharmacological prevention interventionStandard non-pharmacological intervention during 5 days after surgery.
TreatmentOccupational therapy interventionOccupational therapy intervention twice a day plus standard non-pharmacological prevention intervention during 5 days after surgery.
TreatmentStandard non-pharmacological prevention interventionOccupational therapy intervention twice a day plus standard non-pharmacological prevention intervention during 5 days after surgery.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Subsyndromal delirium5 days

Developing postoperative subsyndromal delirium evaluated by CAM (incomplete criteria for delium diagnostic)

Delirium5 days

Developing postoperative delirium evaluated by CAM (complete criteria for delirium diagnostic)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Duration of delirium5 days

Number of days in which the patients have delirium

Lenght of hospital stay30 days

Number of days between admission and discharge to the hospital

Mortality30 days

Percentage of patients who die between the day of surgery and 30 days after surgery

Severity of delirium5 days

Severity of delirium will be evaluated with questionnaire CAM-S

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Centro de Investigación Cínica Avanzada (CICA), Hospital Clinico de la Universidad de Chile

🇨🇱

Santiago, RM, Chile

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