Psychiatric occupational therapy by the liaison team for delirium patients in a general hospital:

Verification of efficacy by a retrospective case-control study

Abstract

In our hospital, we are taking a new psychiatric occupational therapy approach for admitted patients with liaison team intervention (liaison OT). The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of liaison OT in patients with delirium. Status changes of the intervention group and the non-intervention group were compared retrospectively one week after using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS). The results showed that GAF/MDAS total score, and the MDAS sub-items of ‘reduced ability to maintain and shift attention’, ‘decreased or increased psychomotor activity’, and ‘sleep/wake cycle disturbance’ improved significantly in the intervention group. In conclusion, liaison OT may contribute to the improvement of delirium.