Delirium has been recognized, documented, and examined for centuries. In 500 BC Hippocrates described hyper- and hypoactive forms of delirium. As medicine, surgery, and critical care have accelerated over the last century, so too has our understanding of delirium and its profound risks to patients, families, and health care teams. It has also been increasingly understood that it is the accumulation of risk factors that ultimately precipitates delirium and nonpharmacological interventions to reduce these risks remain the cornerstone of delirium prevention and management. However, over the last three decades, these nonpharmacological strategies have moved from a single-component approach to a multicomponent approach, targeting multiple risk factors. Additionally, our understanding of what constitutes a risk factor for delirium has evolved, and in particular, it has been recognized that delirium can sometimes be a byproduct of our interventions and health care systems. In the surgical setting, for example, optimization of risk factors prior to surgery, when possible, is now seen as a key way to prevent postoperative delirium. Similarly, critical care medicine now operates with the appreciation of the profound risk to patients of prolonged mechanical ventilation, sedation, and immobilization and seeks to minimize each to reduce the risk of delirium, among other negative effects. The future of delirium prevention and management lies in both better implementation of best practices that have been defined over the last three decades as well as taking more of a whole patient view. This includes harnessing the electronic medical record, artificial intelligence, and so on to risk assess and individualize care for each patient; restructuring care to reduce deliriogenic practices and care environments; redefining what usual care looks like (e.g., utilizing music and involving loved ones, etc.); policy changes to change systematic priorities. In this paper, we will explore the past, present, and future of nonpharmacological prevention and management of delirium across care settings.

Article published online:
22 October 2024

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