Family presence during critical illness may protect against delirium

The implications of family presence during critical illness on clinical and psychosocial outcomes remain of great social, scientific and operational interest. Existing experimental and observational evidence demonstrates that policies supporting family presence decrease the prevalence and duration of delirium among patients with critical illness. Delirium is a fluctuating change in consciousness that occurs frequently among critically ill patients and is associated with poor outcomes. This study by Mohsen et al expands on this evidence base to examine the associations between family presence and delirium during pre-COVID-19 pandemic periods across a health region with policies allowing unrestricted (ie, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) family presence.