Award Date: 2017

Project Lead(s): Jacques Lee, Director Clinical Research Program

Project Title: Predicting Emergency Department Delirium with an Interactive Customizable Tablet to Prevent Repeat Visits (PrEDDICT-PReV) App

What is the issue?

Delirium, the sudden onset of confusion, is experienced by up to 20 per cent of older people treated in emergency rooms. Unfortunately, this serious condition is not recognized in up to about 40 per cent of cases. Older adults with delirium have a three to eight times higher risk of death, and 80 per cent of them return to the hospital within four days.

What did we do? 

We tested an app that predicts delirium to see whether it could increase the ability of emergency room doctors to recognize delirium. The PrEDDICT app is a game, similar to the whack-a-mole carnival game. We tested it with 1,584 patients who visited five emergency departments in four Canadian provinces. To assess the app, we shared the game scores with doctors for half of the patients.

What did we find? 

Our app improved delirium recognition by both doctors and nurses by about 42 per cent. It helped prevent serious adverse events and unnecessary return visits to emergency rooms. The app could be useful to health care professionals in a wide variety of settings as it is available in two languages.