Urologic nursing
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Unrecognized delirium may lead to negative outcomes, such as increased morbidity, longer hospital stays, and increased health care costs. A prospective cohort design study was used to determine the incidence and prevalence of delirium and percentage of patients with unrecognized delirium in a hospital inpatient unit. The sample consisted of 141 patients admitted to a urology/nephrology unit over a six-week period. ⋯ In the nursing assessment, 1 of 17 (6%) had no documentation of any signs/symptoms of delirium. This study provided baseline data for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a delirium recognition program using the CAM. The CAM may represent an easy-to-use, valid, and reliable instrument to detect delirium as part of a routine nursing assessment.