ABSTRACT
Delirium is common in critical care patients, with many considering it a ubiquitous feature of critical illness. Delirium affects patients in intensive care. Critical care delirium is a sudden, fluctuating disturbance in attention with altered levels of arousal and cognition, which occurs with physical or mental illness. Patients who are severely agitated and becoming a risk of harm to themselves or others may require restraints, either in the form of 'mitts' or 'boxing gloves', or to prevent them from lashing out with limbs. The pathophysiology of critical care delirium is multi-factorial, largely uncharacterised, and poorly understood. Agitation and delirium increase nursing burden, and the risk of the patient injuring themselves or dislodging lines and airway devices. Delirium is also distressing for patient's relatives, and features significantly in the memory of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors, even if they lacked insight into their delirium at the time.
