Prospective validation of Sophia observation withdrawal symptoms: A paediatric delirium scale in critically ill children in Denmark

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Paediatric delirium (PD) is increasingly recognised as a common disorder in critically ill children with a reported prevalence ranging from 9% to 66%. We validated the PD component of the Sophia Observation withdrawal Symptoms-Paediatric Delirium (SOS-PD) scale in a Danish setting to provide increased awareness and reliable identification of this critical condition, thereby paving the way for improved pathways to targeted delirium care.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to criterion validate the PD component of the SOS-PD screening tool by comparing blinded psychiatric and nurse assessments and to estimate the prevalence of delirium in critically ill children in a Danish context.

METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed on critically ill children aged between 3 m and 18 y, admitted to an intensive care unit, with a hospital stay of 48 h or more. Assessments took place on a fixed weekday over an 18-month period. To test accuracy and criterion validity, bedside nurses' SOS-PD assessments were compared to the reference standard, a diagnostic assessment performed by a child psychiatrist according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-V criteria by use of the Vanderbilt Assessment of Delirium in Infants and Children.

RESULTS: We included 141 children in the study, 30 (21%) of whom were diagnosed with delirium by the child psychiatrist. The accuracy of the delirium diagnosis was 93.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 88.3-97.1) among the nurses' SOS-PD assessments compared to the reference standard. The SOS-PD demonstrated a high sensitivity of 83.3% (95% CI: 65.3-94.4) and a high specificity of 96.4% (95% CI: 91.0-99.0) with five false-negative and four false-positive cases.

CONCLUSION: The PD component of the SOS-PD tool has good accuracy and validity for assessments performed by nurses compared to a child psychiatrist's diagnosis in critically ill children in a Danish setting. We recommend the use of the SOS-PD instrument in clinical practice.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAustralian critical care : official journal of the Confederation of Australian Critical Care Nurses
Volume37
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)400-406
Number of pages7
ISSN1036-7314
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Assessment tool
  • Delirium screening tool
  • Nursing assessment
  • Paediatric delirium
  • Paediatric intensive care unit
  • Prevalence
  • Sophia observation withdrawal symptoms-paediatric Delirium
  • Validation
  • Intensive Care Units
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Delirium/epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Child, Preschool
  • Critical Illness
  • Infant
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Denmark
  • Child

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