Background: It has been shown that delirium cases occur more frequently in patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation. However, not everyone is diagnosed or treated correctly. Negligence towards such dysfunction costs between 4 and 16 billion dollars annually in the United States. Objectives: To determine the incidence of delirium in critically ill patients with invasive mechanical ventilation, at the Adult Intensive Care Unit (AICU) of the Naval Medical Center; to identify which type of delirium is the most frequent; to determine the time in which such condition develops and the main risk factors that contribute to its emergence. Materials and methods: An analytical, observational and transverse type study was carried out. A sample of 42 critically ill patients admitted to the AICU with invasive mechanical ventilation was analyzed. These patients were evaluated under the CAM-ICU scale in order to determine if they had delirium or not, the time in which they developed it and the type. Results: 71.4% of the patients presented delirium and the most frequent type was hyperactive, with 50% of the cases. Likewise, 56.7% of the patients who developed delirium did so after 72 hours of staying in the AICU; meanwhile, only 13.3% did so at 96 hours. Conclusions: The incidence of delirium in AICU patients was 71.4% and the factors that motivate its emergence are comorbidities; the use of midazolam and propofol during sedation; and lung injury.
