Recorded Messages From Family Members Can Reduce Delirium in ICU

MONDAY, Nov. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- A structured intervention, Family Automated Voice Recording (FAVoR), using recorded voices of family members to provide patients receiving mechanical ventilation with hourly reorientation to the intensive care unit (ICU) environment during daytime hours, is associated with more delirium-free days, according to a study published online Nov. 1 in the American Journal of Critical Care.Cindy L. Munro, Ph.D., R.N., from the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies in Coral Gables, Florida, and colleagues conducted a two-arm, blinded randomized controlled trial involving 178 adults receiving mechanical ventilation in nine ICUs to examine the impact of the FAVoR intervention versus usual care (89 patients in each group). Delirium was measured twice daily for seven days or until ICU discharge with the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU.The researchers found that the number of delirium-free days was higher for patients in the FAVoR group versus the usual-care group. The response to the intervention was dose-dependent, with less delirium seen in association with more doses of the intervention."The evidence has long shown that family involvement is a key element in delirium prevention and interventions, but families often face challenges to fully participating in their loved ones' care," Munro said in a statement. "We designed this intervention to augment family presence so that a patient could hear from a loved one, even if their family wasn't able to physically be at the bedside."Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Recorded Messages From Family Members Can Reduce Delirium in ICU

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