DElirium and LIGHT: Exploring Modifiable Risk Factors of Delirium - a Pilot Study

NCT07791472 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: KCH26-023367559
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

After a period of critical illness many people develop problems with memory, attention and thinking and this can make daily life more difficult. A risk factor for these problems is delirium. Delirium is a sudden change in the brain that causes confusion and difficulty focusing. People develop delirium when they are sick for another reason, such as a severe infection, or after surgery. Other risk factors for delirium are altered sleep/wake cycle, and absence of daylight. While delirium is very common in critical care, it's difficult to recognise and the reasons why it happens are not fully understood. There are no treatments for delirium. Management focusses on reducing the impact of things that make it more likely for someone to develop delirium. For example, by making sure pain is well controlled and that family members can visit. While it comes with its challenges, maintaining a normal day and night cycle by turning lights off and reducing the number of interruptions during nighttime hours is also a strategy used and research has shown that sometimes this works. Unfortunately, the findings are not the same in every study, and the reasons why these interventions work to reduce delirium are not explored. This study, called DELIGHT-P, wants to look at the relationship between delirium and light exposure to help to understand why absence of daylight is a risk factor for delirium. We think it has something to do with changes in the 'body clock' of patients in critical care. To find this out we will collect blood samples, measure light levels at the bedside, and assess participants for delirium. After discharge from critical care we will see participants again and ask them about their memory and do some thinking tests. We will also do another blood test. The blood samples will be tested for markers of changes to the 'body clock' and others will be tested for proteins that might be useful for recognising when someone has delirium. As this is a pilot study, the research will be done with fewer people taking part. This is to check that the things we want to measure are the right things, and that it's possible to do the research. We hope that in the future we can do a larger study to be able to draw conclusions about what we find. The findings from this study may help us understand how light exposure and an altered body clock contributes to developing delirium. By checking for proteins that might be present in patients who have delirium, it might help us understand what processes are happening in the body to cause delirium. It is possible that through this work, we can identify potential treatment targets for delirium. We hope that by doing this, we may be able to improve some of the memory and thinking problems that people have after a stay in critical care.

Conditions

Circadian Rhythm Disruption; Delirium

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Recruitment and retention

  6 months

• Adherence to study procedures

  6 months

Study Arms (1)

Patients in critical care

Patients receiving care in critical care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients in critical care

You may qualify if:

• Adult patients \>50 years old
• Patients admitted to critical care in previous 24 hours
• Patients with an arterial or venous access line suitable for blood sampling
• Patients with an expected length of stay \>36 hours

You may not qualify if:

• Patients with a primary neurosurgical diagnosis
• Patients with pre-existing cognitive impairment
• Patients expected to die within 24 hours or receiving end of life treatment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• King's College Hospital NHS Trust: lead
• King's College London: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

London, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Delirium

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Confusion; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 24, 2026
• First Posted: August 28, 2026
• Study Start: August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 1, 2027
• Last Updated: August 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)