SynthesisBrain and behavior2025
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Role of Peripheral Inflammation in Delirium.
Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Role of Peripheral Inflammation in Delirium.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Pathophysiology and biomarkers of delirium in older adults-Narrative review.Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2026Review
- CCL2 and CXCL2 are markers of delirium vulnerability in community dwelling older people.Age and ageing · 2026Article
- Perioperative Interventions Based on Fasting Protocols and Carbohydrate Loading in Non-Cardiac Surgery in Older Adults: A Scoping Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Serum glucose-to-potassium ratio is associated with delirium and all-cause mortality in intensive care unit patients: insights from the MIMIC database analysis.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Research progress in agitation early warning monitoring and new technologies for critically ill patients: a narrative review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe pathophysiology of delirium is poorly understood, but the importance of inflammation is widely accepted. The objective was to investigate whether changes in the peripheral immune system have been associated with the development of delirium in hospitalized adults.
methodsEmbase and MEDLINE databases were searched. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Eligible studies were split into three groups: Peripheral immune response was measured (1) preceding delirium, (2) during delirium, and (3) in both incident and prevalent delirium. Quantitative data was extracted and included in the meta-analysis; otherwise, studies were included in the qualitative analysis. (Prospero 102931)
results149 records were included in the qualitative synthesis and 92 in the meta-analysis. Measured preceding delirium, there was the strongest evidence for higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (mean difference (MD) 1.00, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.53, 1.48, p < 0.00001) in those that developed delirium compared to those that did not. During delirium there was strongest evidence for higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) (MD 21.29, 95% CI 11.78, 30.80, p < 0.00001), cortisol (MD 159.6, 95% CI 120.52, 198.68, p < 0.00001), and leukocyte count (MD 0.79, 95% CI 0.51-1.07, p < 0.000001) in delirium compared to no delirium. DISCUSSION: These results support a role for peripheral immune response and inflammation in delirium. However, the heterogeneity of the condition was reflected in the meta-analysis, and we should be cautious extrapolating these results to specific populations. Many studies measured the same soluble markers of inflammation, and a new era of delirium research is needed that transcends this to better understand the condition and develop future treatments.
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