06 Dec 23. Delirium Pilot Feasibility Study

The Small Vessel Diseases Brain Imaging in Delirium pilot feasibility study completed recruitment on 6th December 2023.

The study aims are to assess the feasibility and tolerability of performing brain MRI in people with delirium and to assess the vascular contribution to delirium.

Delirium is an acute disturbance in attention, awareness, and cognition that affects a quarter of older hospital inpatients. Delirium is strongly linked to the development of dementia. The aetiology of delirium is poorly understood and the study seeks to assess acute and chronic vascular changes that may contribute to delirium. We recruited 20 in-patents, 10 with and 10 without persistent delirium, to compare brain changes on MRI.

The study was a big team effort including Dr Una Clancy, Dr Fergus Doubal, Prof Alasdair MacLullich and Prof Joanna Wardlaw, and the Edinburgh Imaging Radiographers: Charlotte Jardine, Gayle Barclay, Donna McIntyre, Derek Elder, Ciara Whitcroft, and Iona Hamilton. We thank the patients, their families, and the department of Medicine of the Elderly and Stroke at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for working with us on this project.

The Brain Imaging in Delirium Study gratefully receives support from the British Geriatrics Society. Telephone follow-up now continues to assess outcome measures and the study findings will be disseminated in 2024.