Features as Indicators for Delirium : An Application on Single Wrist-Worn Accelerometer Data from Adult Intensive Care Unit Patients

Abstract: Objective: The diagnosis of delirium in intensive care unit patients is frequently missed. Key symptoms to identify delirium are motoric alterations, changes in activity level, and delirium-specific movements. This study aimed to explore features collected by a single wrist-worn accelerometer as indicators of delirium. Methods: The study included twenty-two patients in the intensive care unit. The data was collected with the GENEActiv accelerometer device and the activity level was calculated. Differences between the delirious and nondelirious patients were tested. Results: Differences in activity level and rest-activity patterns were noticed between the delirious and non-delirious patients. However, the differences were not found to be significant. Conclusion: Activity patterns revealed differences between delirious and non‐delirious patients. Further study is required to confirm the potential of actigraphy in the early detection of delirium in the intensive care unit.