Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Delirium in the emergency department (ED) is common among elderly patients, especially among patients with dementia. Delirium is related to an increased length of hospital stay and risk of mortality. Early identification of delirium leads to interventions which can limit its deleterious impact. A factor limiting the early response to delirium is the fact that it is challenging to identify for healthcare professionals. Family members who know the patient well are an untapped resource for aiding in the identification of delirium. In this study, we examined the performance of a tool (the Family-Confusion Assessment Method (FAM-CAM)) to support the identification of delirium by family members among patients with and without dementia, The association between six-month mortality and delirium according to the FAM-CAM was also assessed. We performed the study with a sample of 108 dyads of patient-Family member. Among patients with dementia, the FAM-CAM holds great potential to aid in the identification of delirium. Future studies could couple the FAM-CAM with health professionals' screening of inattention, thereby increasing sensitivity of the FAM-CAM and overall detection of delirium in the ED.