The Effect of Multidimensional Nursing Interventions on the Incidence of Delirium in Patients with COVID-19.

Background: In patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the incidence of delirium has been increased due to the nature of the disease and the specific protective protocols implemented to control the outbreak of this disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of multidimensional nursing interventions on the incidence of delirium in patients with COVID-19.

Materials and methods: A quasiexperimental study (preintervention, postintervention assessment) was conducted in168 patients (84 patients in each group) with COVID-19 admitted to the general wards of Hazrat Ali-Asghar Educational Hospital in Shiraz, Iran, between May and June 2021. At first, based on inclusion criteria, the control group was selected to prevent information transmission between the study groups. The control group was treated as usual, but the intervention group received a three-part intervention that included nurse-related, patient-related, and environment-related measures. A Demographic Information Form and the Richmond Agitation Sedation Score and the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist were completed for each patient. The collected data were analyzed.

Results: 25.30% of patients in the control group and 10.50% of patients in the intervention group experienced delirium (χ ² = 5.72, p < 0.05). The results showed that the incidence of delirium was significantly lower in the intervention group. The mean number of days during which the patients experienced delirium was insignificantly lower in the intervention group (U = 2.56, p > 0.05). The mean length of hospital stay was also significantly lower in the control group (U = -2.41, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The multidimensional nursing interventions effectively reduced the incidence of delirium in patients with COVID-19.