Continued use of statins may help prevent delirium in critically ill patients who received statins before hospital admission, according to a new study of 470 intensive care patients in the UK.
"This is the first study using a validated delirium screening tool, the Confusion Assessment Method-ICU (CAM-ICU), to show that the administration of statins reduces delirium in these patients," said lead author Valerie J Page MB ChB, of the Watford General Hospital in Watford, UK. "This benefit may be mediated by a reduction in systemic inflammation."