Delirium prevalence and related risk factors in patients with head and neck cancer Surgery

Delirium is a common problem in hospitalized patients and may threaten the patient's life. Patients undergoing
surgery may experience such a common complication. The high mortality in patients with delirium and lack of a rapid recovery from
the disease, reveal the importance of addressing this problem. So the purpose of this study is to show the risk factors in the major head
and neck cancer surgeries that cause delirium and help patients.
Materials & Methods: .In this study, 104 patients with head and neck cancer candidates for surgery in Imam Reza Hospital in Tabriz
university of medical sciences were studied. Demographic characteristics and risk factors of delirium were recorded and a personality
test of MMPI was performed . All selected samples were studied. Data, based on T-TEST and ANOVA were analyzed.
Results: Based on obtained information %49.4 of study participants were female and %59.6 of men. More than16% of them had
previous disease such as Hypertension, Diabetes, Cardiac Infarction, Atrial fibrillation and pulmonary disease.
Results showed that %90.4 of patients was without delirium and %9.6 of them has experienced delirium. Findings also showed that
the most frequent diagnosis in terms of MMPI test sequence was related to anxiety disorder such as schizoaffective and severe
depression. Results indicated a significant relation between literacy and the likelihood of patients experiencing delirium is P=%0.5. A
significant relation between the type of surgery and the risk of delirium exists in the cancer of the larynx (P=%0.1) and also there was
meaningful relation between the factors of the MMPI and delirium experiencing MA (p=%0.5) Pd (p=%0.5). There was no remarkable
affinity between delirium and the existence of Hypertension, Diabetes, the residing period in ICU and the duration of Cardio Pulmonary
diseases, potassium, sodium and glucose. The other findings also indicated that the MMPI test can be used as a tool to diagnose
Delirium.
Conclusion: Because of high mortality in delirious patients we can get cognitive tests to recognize high risk persons to prevent. Psychic
or psychotherapy is one of the first step of treatment.