Nursing Perceptions and Workload Impact of a Standardized Emergence Delirium Assessment Scale in a Postanesthesia Care Unit.

Emergence delirium (EDL) is a psychomotor behavioral phenomenon that occurs immediately after emergence from general anesthesia. EDL is nearly 1.5 times more common among military than nonmilitary patients. Indirect delirium scales have precluded understanding of EDL in military patients. This quality improvement project assesses the feasibility of adopting a population-specific scale, the Emergence Delirium in the Wounded Warrior (ED-WW) Tool.Pre-post implementation design.Postanesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses were surveyed on the clinical utility of the ED-WW Tool and its impact on their workload. The incidence of EDL behaviors in a Veterans Administration PACU was also recorded using the ED-WW Tool.PACU nurses agreed the ED-WW Tool was of clinical value to military patients and had a very low workload impact. Twenty-one percent of patients demonstrated at least one behavior associated with EDL.ED-WW Tool adoption is clinically feasible and recommended for practice.

Duke Scholars

Author Charles Andrew Vacchiano School of Nursing

Author James Franklin Titch School of Nursing