DEVELOPMENT OF POSTOPERATIVE DELIRIUM IN RELATION TO A ROOM CHANGE INTHE GENERAL SURGICAL UNIT

To analyze the relationship between the development of postoperative d elirium and a change of the patient's room, 1,006 cases of patients wh o had undergone surgery with general anesthesia were reviewed. Postope rative delirium developed in 84 (8.3%) cases. On the basis of symptoma tic features, postoperative delirium was divided into four types: (1) excitement type, (2) excitement-hallucination type, (3) hallucination type, and (4) disorientation type. Of the 31 excitement-type cases, 21 developed within the 2nd postoperative day (POD) while 27 of 29 hallu cination types developed after POD 2. Of 29 hallucination types, 22 de veloped after a room change while 20 of these 22 cases were transferre d to a single room before POD 2. A quiet, dark, and isolated environme nt in a single room is suggested to contribute to the development of h allucinations. The development of postoperative delirium with hallucin ations alone should thus be taken into consideration whenever a room c hange is decided.