Objective: Studies documenting the prevalence of delirium among critically ill children are still rare. Emerging literature from psychiatric specialists reports the prevalence of delirium to be approximately 10% in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This is likely to be an underestimation of the true prevalence, as demonstrated in early adult delirium literature, especially given the absence of validated bedside tools to diagnose delirium in the PICU.

The primary aim of this study is to validate the German version of the Pediatric Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (pCAM-ICU). The secondary aim of the study is to compare validity and reliability of the pCAM-ICU and the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) Scale.

Inclusion Criteria:

• pediatric ICU patients

Exclusion Criteria:

• non-German-speaking
• inability to communicate due to severe hearing loss or brain injury
• preexisting psychosis
• mental retardation due to a specific diseases (e.g. M. Crouzon, Kabuki Syndrome, Z.n. Battered Child, Atrogryposes multiplex congenita)

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Patients