Sensory Stimulation to Reduce Delirium Post Liver Transplantation

Nabawia S. Safan¹, Naglaa M. El Mokadem^2, , Essam M. Salah El Deen³ and Amal N. Abboud⁴

¹Clinical Instructor of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing - Menoufia University, Egypt

²Professor at Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing- Galala University, Suez, Egypt

³Professor of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, National Liver Institute - Menoufia University, Egypt

⁴Lecturer of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing - Menoufia University, Egypt

Cite this paper:
Nabawia S. Safan, Naglaa M. El Mokadem, Essam M. Salah El Deen and Amal N. Abboud. Sensory Stimulation to Reduce Delirium Post Liver Transplantation. American Journal of Nursing Research. 2026; 14(1):10-19. doi: 10.12691/ajnr-14-1-2

Abstract

Background: Post-operative delirium is a frequent complication after surgery especially liver transplantation, occurring in 15–20% of general patients admitted to ICU, and it has been associated with prolonged ICU and hospital length of stay, increased costs of care, and higher mortality rate. Sensory stimulation is a non-invasive, safe, inexpensive and straight forward approach widely used in caring for people post transplantation to reduce incidence of neurocognitive disorders, such as dementia and delirium. Purpose: to evaluate the effect of sensory stimulation to reduce delirium post liver transplantation. Design: A quasi-experimental design was utilized. Setting: Surgical Intensive Care Units of the National Liver Institute in Menoufia, Menoufia Governorate, Egypt. Sample: A convenient sample of 40 post liver transplant patients who were admitted to the ICU. Instruments: (1) A Semi Structured Demographic and Medical Data Sheet, (2) Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPSII), (3) Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS), (4) Confusion Assessment Method in the ICU (CAM-ICU). Results: There was a highly statistically significant decrease in the mean score of delirium in the study group (0.30 ±0.10) compared to (4.15 ± 2.30) in the control group post intervention (p<0.001). Additionally, there was a highly statistically significant improvement in the incidence rate of delirium in the study group compared to the control group post intervention with the majority of participants in the study group (90%) compared to (20%) in the control group had no delirium. Also, there was a highly statistically significant reduction in the mean score of the ICU length of stay in the study group (6.70 ± 0.57) compared with the control group (8.50 ± 1.73) post intervention with (P< 0.001). Conclusion: sensory stimulation interventions had a significant impact on reducing the incidence rate, severity of delirium and ICU length of stay following liver transplantation. Recommendation: Sensory stimulation should be considered a standard practice post-operative for liver transplant patients, as it has been shown to reduce the incidence of delirium and promote better recovery outcomes.

Keywords:
Liver Transplantation Post-operative Delirium Sensory Stimulation

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