Postoperative Delirium in Intensive Care Units: A Bibliometric Analysis of Nursing Studies

BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common and serious postoperative complication in intensive care units, associated with increased morbidity, mortality and long-term cognitive impairment, and despite the pivotal role of nurses in its assessment and management, variations in prevalence and gaps in intervention-focused nursing research persist, underscoring the need for a bibliometric evaluation of the literature. AIM: The aim of the study was to quantitatively analyse and visually map trends, citations, key terms and country contributions in nursing research on postoperative delirium in intensive care as well as to characterize the overall structure of the literature. STUDY DESIGN: This study was conducted as a retrospective and descriptive research using the bibliometric analysis method on December 1, 2025. No time restrictions were imposed on the literature. Data analysis was performed using R Studio software. RESULTS: The earliest study on postoperative delirium in intensive care units within the field of nursing was published in 2001, and the analysed publications covered the period from 2001 to December 2025. In addition, 55.96% of all publications have been released in the past 7 years. The journal with the highest number of publications is Nursing in Critical Care, while the United States stands out as the country with the highest research output. It can be suggested that topics such as 'cardiac surgery', 'nursing care', 'postoperative delirium', 'postoperative care' and the 'Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit' represent areas that warrant further investigation and development in future research. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis showed a marked increase in publications on postoperative delirium in intensive care nursing in recent years. The United States and the Journal Nursing in Critical Care were identified as the leading contributors to the literature. Thematic mapping indicated that the literature primarily focused on delirium assessment and intensive care nursing, with several interconnected research areas. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings emphasize the critical role of nurses in delirium screening and management in intensive care units. While assessment tools are well represented in the literature, further research is needed to develop and evaluate nurse-led interventions aimed at delirium prevention and care. Enhancing nursing education and institutional support may contribute to improved patient outcomes and quality of postoperative intensive care.