Delirium: prevention, diagnosis and management in hospital and long-term care

Delirium assessment tools:
What is the diagnostic accuracy, and ease of implementation, of different delirium assessment tools:

• for people with pre-existing cognitive impairment, for example dementia, learning disability or severe depression
• for people who do not speak English as a first language
• in different settings, for example emergency departments, residential care homes or virtual consultations
• when delivered by different types of health and social care practitioners, for example healthcare assistants or allied health professionals such as paramedics?

Pharmacological prevention: In people in hospital who are at high risk of delirium, which medication (atypical antipsychotics, typical antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or acetylcholinesterase inhibitors), compared with placebo or each other, is more clinically and cost effective in preventing the development of delirium?

Pharmacological treatment: In people in hospital who have delirium, which is the most effective medication (atypical antipsychotics, typical antipsychotics or benzodiazepines) compared with placebo or each other for treating delirium?

Multicomponent intervention: For people in long-term care, is a multicomponent non-pharmacological intervention more clinically and cost effective than usual care in preventing the development of delirium?

Delirium in long-term care: How common is delirium and what are its adverse outcomes in people in long-term care?

Education programme: Does a staff education programme (compared with an educational leaflet or usual care) reduce the incidence of delirium and improve the recognition and recording of delirium in people in hospital?