Kyla Brown Successfully Defends her Master's Thesis

Evaluating the Association Between Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit and Subsequent Neuropsychiatric Disorders Post-Stay

Individuals without pre-existing neuropsychiatric disorders are reported to be at increased risk of developing a neuropsychiatric disorder after admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This risk may be attributed to the severity of illness and the nature of therapies provided, including intubation, medically induced coma, and numerous medications. Furthermore, approximately half of ICU patients develop delirium during their stay, which may further add to the burden of neuropsychiatric disorders experienced by these patients. If these neuropsychiatric disorders are not identified and treatment initiated early, patients may be at risk for adverse consequences, such as increased mortality, increased length of hospital stay and further cognitive impairment. Therefore, the objectives of thesis were to

(1) examine the overall prevalence

(2) incidence of neuropsychiatric disorders following a stay in a general systems ICU

(3) determine the association between delirium in the ICU and an onset of a neuropsychiatric  disorders subsequent to the ICU stay.

The objectives for this study were addressed in two phases: 

In phase one, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to address the overall pooled prevalence of depression, anxiety, trauma-and-stressor related, and neurocognitive disorders.

In phase two, a retrospective cohort using administrative databases was conducted.