Postoperative delirium risk factors and knowledge of nurses in connection postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery

This work was to identify elderly patients after cardiac surgery delirium development of risk factors. This move has the following objectives: to examine the most frequent of delirium after cardiac surgery, risk factors and to examine and evaluate the nurses' knowledge related to postoperative delirium after cardiac surgery. Method. Patients were examined before and after surgery. Each stage of the investigation was completed in to the questionaire. Questionnaire consists of four parts: the first part was completed before the surgery, the second during the surgery, the third and fourth parts were completed after the surgery. At the end of each part was carried out Mini Mental State Examination and Confussion assessment tests. Nurses filled out an anonymous questionnaire that was developed by M. Hare and translated from English. The questionnaire consists of: first part – demographic data, second – a task to choose the most suitable description to delirium and correct scales, the third part – to choose correct answer to 28 claims: 14 were related to delirium, and other 14 - with the risk of delirium. Patients and nurses data were analyzed using SPSS statistical program for the 18th Results. The study was to examine preoperative, perioperative, postoperative factors influencing the development of postoperative delrium. The results showed that age over 74 years, more than four different medicines and cognitive impairment before surgery are the preoperative factors which affect the development of delirium, perioperative factors as duration of surgery longer than 361 minutes and postoperative factors as more than half a liter of blood loss during drain the first day, restlessnesst at night, more than three different analgetic use, use of nitroprusside and pain harder than six points afect the devepoment of delirium too. The study revealed that nurses' knowledge of delirium and its risk factors was insufficiant. Delirium description correctly selected 46.4 percent. of nurses, more than half of the questionnaire/ scales correctly selected, 35.7 percent. and 41.9 percent of nurses chosen the right answer to claims. The choice of correct answers have been influenced by nurse’s education. Conclusion. The development of postoperative delirium symptoms were associated with older age, more than four different medicines, cognitive impairment, a longer lasting surgery, more than half a liter of blood loss during the first day, polipharmacology of painkillers, pain higher then six points, the use of nitroprusside and bad sleep at night (p