Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Thai version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU), when compared to the diagnoses made by delirium experts. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in both surgical intensive care and subintensive care units in Thailand between February–June 2011. Seventy patients aged 60 years or older who had been admitted to the units were enrolled into the study within the first 48 hours of admission. Each patient was randomly assessed as to whether they had delirium by a nurse using the Thai version of the CAM-ICU algorithm (Thai CAM-ICU) or by a delirium expert using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Results: The prevalence of delirium was found to be 18.6% (n=13) by the delirium experts. The sensitivity of the Thai CAM-ICU’s algorithms was found to be 92.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] =64.0%-99.8%), while the specificity was 94.7% (95% CI =85.4%-98.9%). The instrument displayed good interrater reliability (Cohen’s κ=0.81; 95% CI =0.64-0.99). The time taken to complete the Thai CAM-ICU was 1 minute (interquatile range, 1-2 minutes). Conclusion: The Thai CAM-ICU demonstrated good validity, reliability, and ease of use when diagnosing delirium in a surgical intensive care unit setting. The use of this diagnostic tool should be encouraged for daily, routine use, so as to promote the early detection of delirium and its rapid treatment.

Background: Respiratory complications are some of the most common complications following thoracic surgery and can lead to higher perioperative morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple clinical score for prediction of respiratory complications after thoracic surgery, and determine the internal validity. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, all consecutive patients were aged 18 years and over and undergoing non-cardiac thoracic surgery at a tertiary-care university hospital. Respiratory complications included bronchospasm, atelectasis, pneumonia, respiratory failure, and adult respiratory distress syndrome within 30 days of surgery or before discharge. Results: A total of 1488 patients were included over a 7-year period, and 15.8% (235 of 1488 patients) developed respiratory complications. The significant predictors of respiratory complications were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, American Society of Anesthesiologist physical status ≥ 3, right-sided surgery, duration of surgery longer than 180 min, preoperative arterial oxygen saturation on room air < 96%, and open thoracotomy. The area under receiving operating characteristic curve was 0.78 (95% confidence interval: 0.75–0.82) and 0.76 (95% confidence interval: 0.70–0.83) for the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. The model was well calibrated with a Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit of 7.32 ( p = 0.293). Conclusions: This study developed and internally validated a simple clinical risk score for prediction of respiratory complications following thoracic surgery. This score can be used to stratify high-risk patients, address modifiable risk factors for respiratory complications, and provide preventive strategies for improving postoperative outcomes.

Background and Objectives: Although the types of comorbidities and laboratory evaluations are major factors associated with mortality after hip fractures, there have been no studies of the association of these factors and mortality in Thai hip-fracture patients. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors associated with mortality after a hip fracture in the Thai population, including types of comorbidities, treatment-related factors, and laboratory evaluations. Materials and Methods: This five-year retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Thailand. A total of 775 Thai patients who had been admitted with a hip fracture resulting from a simple fall were identified using the International Classification of Disease 10 codes, and a review of their medical charts was conducted. Associations between general factors, comorbidities, laboratory evaluations, treatment factors including type of treatment, and time to death were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard regression and the hazard ratio (HR). Results: The overall mortality rate of hip fracture patients was 13.94%. Independent prognostic factors found to be significantly associated with mortality were nonoperative treatment (HR = 3.29, p < 0.001), admission glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 30 mL/min/1.73 m² (HR = 3.40, p < 0.001), admission hemoglobin concentration <10 g/dL. (HR = 2.31, p < 0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (HR = 2.63, p < 0.001), dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (HR = 4.06, p < 0.001), and active malignancy (HR = 6.80, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The types of comorbidities and laboratory evaluation findings associated with mortality in Thai patients with hip fractures include chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, active malignancy, admission GFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m², and admission hemoglobin concentration <10 g/dL. The risks of mortality for Thai hip-fracture patients with these comorbidities or laboratory evaluation findings were 2.5, 4, 7, 3.5, and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than patients without those factors.

Objectives: This study examined levels of perceived stress (PS), postoperative delirium (POD) and associated factors among Thai elderly patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. Background and aims: Preoperative PS and change after operation have not been widely studied. Moreover, psychological factors associated with PS and POD has been poorly investigated. Materials and Methods: In total, 429 elderly patients were recruited at a university hospital. The preoperative evaluation included sociodemographic data, health behaviors at risk, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Neuroticism Inventory (NI), Mental State Examination T10 (MSET10), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Three-day postoperative evaluation included PSS-10 and Confusion Assessment Method Algorithm (CAM) or CAM-ICU for Delirium. Multiple regression and logistic regression analysis were performed to determine potential predictors. Results: Females were 58.97%, and the mean age was 69.93 ± 6.87 years. Mean pre- and postoperative PS were 12.77 ± 5.41 and 13.39 ± 5.26, respectively (P < 0.05). Multiple regression revealed that neuroticism, depression, and BMI predicted PS significantly. None of the independent variables was found to predict postoperative PS except for preoperative PS (p <.001). POD at the recovery room was predicted by preoperative PS (odds ratio = 1.181, 95% CI = 1.019–1.369), whereas overall POD was predicted by MoCA (odds ratio = .864, 95% CI = .771 -.968). Conclusion: Preoperative PS was significant in that it was associated with postoperative PS and POD. A careful assessment of preoperative PS as well as providing brief interventions for patients with high levels of this condition may reduce the risk of POD.