The Validity of the Thai Version of the Confusion Assessment Method

The Validity and Reliability of Thai Version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM -ICU)

The purpose of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Thai version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the intensive care (CAM-ICU) in the elderly and the prevalence of delirium in elderly.

The incidence of delirium in intensive care unit varied between 20 and 80% depending on many factors such as types of study, diagnostic tools, severity of patients.The occurrence of delirium is common in elderly patients. However, the prevalence of delirium in the intensive care has not been reported in Thailand. There is no common tool used for detecting delirium in Thai ICU. Currently, CAM-ICU has been developed for nonpsychiatric physician and other health care professionals to detect delirium. The sensitivity and specificity of CAM-ICU was 91-93% and 89-100% respectively. In addition, it has been translated to many version to diagnose deliriums for all over the world. In Thailand, there is no common tool used for detecting delirium in ICU. The use of CAM-ICU may be useful in Thai ICU settings.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age ≥ 55 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe visual or auditory impairment
• Comatose or moribund patients
• Unable to communicate with Thai language