Emotional consequences of intensive care unit delirium and delusional memories after intensive care unit admission: a systematic review

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review literature exploring the emotional consequences of delirium and delusional memories in intensive care unit patients.

Methods: A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsychINFO.

Results: Fourteen articles were eligible for this review. Five of them assessed delirium during intensive care unit admission, and the remainder assessed delusional memories during or after admission. No association was found for delirium and adverse emotional outcome. Data regarding delusional memories and emotional outcome were heterogenic. Some studies presented worse scores on posttraumatic stress disorder screening tools in patients with delusional memories, whereas other studies found better scores in patients with delirium or delusional memories.

Conclusions: Based on current literature, no relationship could be shown for delirium and emotional outcome. Regarding delusional memories and adverse emotional outcome, results were in contradiction.