Delirium risk in geriatric hip hemi-arthroplasty (DRIGHA): Development and validation of a novel score using a national data

Background: In-hospital delirium after hip hemi-arthroplasty results in a prolonged hospital course and an increase in morbidity and mortality. Early identification of high-risk patients and preventive strategies can reduce the occurrence of delirium. The purpose of the study is to identify the risk factors of delirium and create a scoring system for point of care physicians. The risk factors were created and validated in the study. Hypothesis: Certain factors are associated with in-hospital delirium after hip hemi-arthroplasty in geriatric patients. Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2016 to 2019 was accessed for the study. The study included all geriatric patients, ages 65 years and older, who underwent hip hemi-arthroplasty following a hip fracture. A multivariable analysis was performed to identify the risk of delirium using all the available information including patient demography, timing of surgery, comorbidities, and infective complications. Eighty percent of the data were used to develop a risk model, and 20% of the data were used to validate the model. A Receiving Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve was created. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) was calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A Delirium Risk in Geriatric Hip Hemi-Arthroplasty (DRIGHA) score was created. Results: Out of 13,174 patients who qualified for the study, 3924 (29.8%) patients developed in-hospital delirium. The risk model showed advanced age, male gender, prior history of delirium and dementia, certain comorbidities, and complications were associated with a higher incidence of in-hospital delirium. The AUC was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.78–0.80). The DRIGHA score predicted the risk of delirium from 8 to 99.4%. Conclusion: Certain demography characteristics, comorbidities and infective complications were associated with a higher risk of developing in-hospital delirium. A DRIGHA score can be calculated at the bedside through a web-based calculator. Preventive strategies in high-risk patients will reduce the incidence of delirium.