The effects of restricted visitation on delirium incidence in the intensive care units of a tertiary hospital in South Korea.

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a common but serious complication in critically ill patients. Family visitation has been shown to reduce delirium; however, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, intensive care units (ICUs) restricted regular visitation to prevent the spread of infection. This study aimed to evaluate the association between visitation policies and incidence of delirium in the ICUs.

METHODS

This was a retrospective before-and-after study conducted in medical and surgical ICUs at a tertiary hospital. Adult patients admitted to an ICU during one of two periods were included: before the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2017 to May 2019) with regular visitation and during the pandemic (June 2020 to May 2022) with prohibited visitation. Delirium was assessed using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU. The primary outcome was association between delirium incidence and visitation policy.

RESULTS

Totals of 1,566 patients from the pre-COVID-19 period and 1,404 patients from the COVID-19 period were analyzed. The incidence of delirium was higher during the COVID-19 period (48.1% vs. 38.4%, P<0.001). After adjusting for relevant variables, the restricted visitation policy during COVID-19 remained a risk factor for delirium (odds ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.13-1.65; P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Complete restriction of ICU visitations during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant increase in delirium incidence. These findings suggest the importance of visitation policies on patient outcomes and suggest the need for alternative strategies, such as video visitation, to mitigate the adverse effects of visitation restrictions during pandemics.