300,000+ clinical trials. Find the right one.

120 active trials for Delirium

Cholinesterase Activity and DeliriUm During Critical Illness Study

Delirium is a syndrome of acute brain dysfunction involving attention and cognition that affects up to half of older hospitalized patients and 50%-75% of critically ill ICU patients, such that millions of patients worldwide experience this acute threat to their health and well being every year. One-third to half of critical illness survivors struggle with a dementia-like disorder similar in severity to moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury or Alzheimer's Disease, and the only proven risk factor that is potentially modifiable is delirium in the ICU. Despite the frequency and impact of delirium in the ICU, little is known regarding the biological mechanisms that lead to this form of organ dysfunction during critical illness. A widely held hypothesis proposes that inflammation is regulated by the cholinergic system, and that this interaction plays a pivotal role whether delirium developments in the setting of acute illness. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) are enzymes that hydrolyze the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Changes in the activity of these enzymes, which can be measured in whole blood, reflect altered regulation of circulating acetylcholine. AChE and BuChE activities have promise as both predictors of delirium (when found to be low at admission) and biomarkers of delirium (when low during serial measurement). Neither of these biomarkers, however, have been studied in the ICU setting where delirium risk is the highest. The current investigation, therefore will be the first to determine the validity of circulating AChE and BuChE activities as biomarkers of delirium during critical illness and subsequent cognitive impairment after discharge. This study will measure whole blood AChE and butyrylcholinesterase BuChE activities within the framework of the ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Study Group's ongoing clinical trials in critically ill patients.

Start: May 2017
Physical Restraint of Critically Ill Patients

Background: Physical restraint of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a common practice, with estimated prevalence of 50% of all ICU patients, with and without invasive ventilation support(1). The prevalence of physical restraint varies between ICU's according to patient population (surgical, cardiac, trauma, burns and general intensive care patients). In mechanically ventilated patients, the physical restriction (tying the patient) is carried out frequently in addition to pharmacological treatment with analgesic and sedative medications, in order to prevent falling, self-inflicted injury or accidental removal of essential medical devices (tracheobronchial tubes, central venous infusions, drains, etc.) by the patient. In non-ventilated patients, physical restraint is often carried out in patients with delirium or cognitive decline, in addition to pharmacological anti -delirium therapy (1). However, physical restraint has many drawbacks, including injuries to the skin and the soft tissues, blood vessels, peripheral nerves, muscle and skeleton (2). In addition, physical restraint may exacerbate symptoms of restlessness and delirium and even increase the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder in these patients (3,4). Despite the high prevalence of physical restraint of ICU patients, with its disadvantages and advantages, currently there are no consensual criteria for physical restraint and the decision when and how long to use it is at the discretion of the attending physician. It is important to note that in recent years there has been a tendency to reduce the amount of sedation that mechanically ventilated patients are given, which may lead to an increase in the incidence of physical restraint of patients who are fully or partially conscious (5).

Start: March 2021