For healthcare leaders seeking to improve patient safety, intensive care units (ICUs) have always been fraught, and providers increasingly find themselves facing the threat of “ICU delirium.”
The condition, which occurs suddenly and can induce paranoia and hallucinations, is often a terrifying experience for patients, according to STAT. As many as 8 in 10 ICU patients can be effected, and the experience persists beyond the walls of the hospital; post-traumatic stress disorder affects discharged ICU patients at a rate comparable to combat veterans and survivors of rape.
