Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40684269›Full record

Observational studyAge and ageing2025

Detecting delirium in Parkinson's disease: an evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of bedside tools.

Rachael Ashleigh Lawson, Sarah Joanna Richardson, Florence Gerakios, Alison Jane Yarnall, Gemma Bate, Laura Wright, Claire McDonald, John Paul Taylor, David Burn, Glenn Stebbins and 1 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Age and ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Rachael Ashleigh LawsonTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.ORCID 0000-0003-2608-8285
Sarah Joanna RichardsonTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-5771-1845
Florence GerakiosTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.ORCID 0000-0001-7162-8928
Alison Jane YarnallTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Gemma BateTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Laura WrightNIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Claire McDonaldTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
John Paul TaylorTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
David BurnTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Glenn StebbinsDepartment of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Louise M AllanCentre for Research in Ageing and Cognitive Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-8912-4901

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDelirium is a serious, acute neuropsychiatric condition associated with fluctuating attention and altered arousal. Delirium in Parkinson's disease (PD) is common but often missed in hospital due to shared clinical features. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of current tools used to identify delirium in inpatients with PD.

methodsPeople with PD admitted to all hospital wards were invited to take part. Participants completed a standardised delirium assessment based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria, in addition to standard bedside tools including the 4 As Test (4AT), arousal and cognition. This was a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study; bedside tools were not completed independently of, or blinded to, the DSM-5 criteria. Accuracy was assessed using Receiver Operating Characteristic area under the curve (AUROC).

resultsParticipants included 115 people with PD (200 hospital admissions); 66.1% (n = 76/115) had delirium. Considering all admissions, the diagnostic accuracy of tools was good, ranging from 74% to 89% (AUROC = 0.764-0.923, P < .001 for all). The 4AT scores had the highest sensitivity (96.7%, AUROC = 0.922, P < .001). However, accuracy decreased in those with underlying cognitive impairment (AUROC = 0.499-0.886).

conclusionsCurrent bedside tools can accurately identify delirium in PD inpatients. Although tools were comparable, the 4AT may have greater clinical utility as it had high sensitivity, is quicker to complete and already widely used clinical. However, caution is recommended as tools did not differentiate between symptoms typical in PD and acute symptoms associated with delirium; this should be a focus for future research.

Indexed as

DeliriumParkinson DiseasePoint-of-Care TestingAgedAged, 80 and overCognitionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsProspective StudiesReproducibility of Resultscognitive impairmentdeliriumdementiadiagnosisolder peopleParkinson’s disease

Identifiers

PMID40684269
PMCPMC12276198

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.