OBJECTIVETo assess the medical community's awareness and practice regarding delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU).

METHODSOne hundred and ten predesigned questionnaires were distributed to ICU practitioners in the affiliated hospitals of Zhejiang University.

RESULTSA total of 105 valid questionnaires were collected. Totally, 55.3% of the clinicians considered that delirium was common in the ICU. Delirium was believed to be a significant or serious problem by 70.5% of respondents, and under-diagnosis was acknowledged by 56.2% of the respondents. The incidence of ICU delirium is even more under-estimated by the pediatric doctors compared with their counterparts in adult ICU (P less than 0.05). Primary disease of the brain (agreed by 82.1% of the respondents) was believed to be the most common risk factor for delirium. None of the ICU professionals screened delirium or used a specific tool for delirium assessment routinely. The vast majority (92.4%) of respondents had little knowledge on the diagnosis and the standard treatment of delirium.

CONCLUSIONSAlthough delirium is considered as a serious problem by a majority of the surveyed ICU professionals, it is still under-recognized in routine critical care practice. Data from this survey show a disconnection between the perceived significance of delirium and the current practices of monitoring and treatment in ICU in China.