Evaluation of delirium in intensive pediatric therapy units: an integrative review

Delirium is a change in attention or awareness associated with changes in cognition, which occurs over a short period of time, may originate from cortical and subcortical dysfunctions, due to problems in the concentrations of neurotransmitters, responsible for cognitive function, behavior and mood. This study aimed to analyze the specialized literature regarding the incidence, evaluation and treatment of delirium in pediatric critical care. It is a study of bibliographical review of the integrative type, based on the analysis of scientific articles, with a quantitative focus on incidence, risk factors and evaluation of Delirium in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Cohort studies, case studies and online surveys were considered, resulting in a final sample of 17 articles. There was a predominance of recent publications, between 70 and 70% of the cohort, prospective, 58.8%, use of pCAM-ICU, 35.7% of the evaluated articles, and 45.4% indicating more than 30% of occurrence of delirium in their samples, occurring more frequently in patients submitted to mechanical ventilation, 46.2%. Through the research, it was verified that few tools are applied in the diagnosis of delirium, which should be encouraged in health institutions.