CAM-ICU-7: Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7
2017An ICU delirium-severity score derived from the four CAM-ICU feature domains together with level of arousal. The 7 in its name is the upper end of the score, not an item count.
Classification
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Tool and original sources
No direct copy is linked here. The original paper and a Google Images search are available below. Image results may be unofficial; check the version and source before use.
Original and selected diagnostic-accuracy papers
- Original paperKhan BA, Perkins AJ, Gao S, Hui SL, Campbell NL, Farber MO, et al. The Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7 Delirium Severity Scale: A Novel Delirium Severity Instrument for Use in the ICU. Critical care medicine. 2017;45(5):851-857. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002368. PMID: 28263192.
This is the original published source for CAM-ICU-7. It is the main source for the method, its intended use and the evidence available at publication.
- Selected diagnostic-accuracy studyvan den Boogaard M, Leenders M, Pop-Purceleanu M, Tilburgs B. Performance and validation of two ICU delirium assessment and severity tools; a prospective observational study. Intensive & critical care nursing. 2024;83:103627. doi: 10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103627. PMID: 38301387.
This diagnostic-accuracy study evaluated CAM-ICU-7 in adult intensive care in routine clinical practice against dRS-R98 assessment by delirium experts. It reported sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 92.4% in 104 CAM-ICU-7 assessments in 86 ICU patients.
At a glance
- Purpose
- Measurement of delirium severity
- Population
- Adult
- Setting
- Intensive care
- Time
- ~2 min
- Score or threshold
- 0–7 severity score; ≥3 was the diagnostic threshold in the 2024 evaluation
Format: CAM-ICU-7 converts information already gathered during CAM-ICU and RASS assessment into a severity total from 0 to 7. It does not contain seven independent questions and it does not replace the underlying delirium assessment. Use the authorised CAM-ICU materials and the published severity method rather than reconstructing the score from this summary.
- Strengths: Severity grading in the ICU
- Limitations: The 2024 diagnostic evaluation was a COVID-era, single-centre study with repeated assessments, many missing or excluded assessments and few severe-delirium cases. Its paper contains internal inconsistencies in the reported accuracy values and assessment denominators.
Evidence
Reported sensitivity and specificity
Later validation or evaluation · 2024 — pmid:38301387
- Denominator
- 86 patients; 104 assessments
- Reference standard
- DRS-R98 >15 assessed by delirium experts
Approximate diagnostic-performance summary from the 2024 evaluation of 86 patients, with 104 completed matched CAM-ICU-7 assessments. The paper's abstract and results narrative report 90% sensitivity and 92.4% specificity, whereas Table 2 reports mean values of 89.5% and 91.4%. Do not present one exact pair without this qualification or derive a 2 x 2 table. The 2017 cohort of 518 supports severity reliability, construct and outcome validity, not these estimates.
More evidence and citation details
- Full name
- Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7
- Also known as
- CAM-ICU-7
- Related profiles
- CAM-ICU
- Training
- Users should be competent in CAM-ICU and RASS and follow the authorised materials. In the 2024 study, more than 80% of nurses received a 30-minute refresher in a unit where CAM-ICU had been established since 2007.
- Evidence summary
- single-DTA
- Diagnostic-accuracy studies
- 1
- Reference standard
- DRS-R98 >15 assessed by delirium experts
- Source-study sample
- 518 patients; 2017 · pmid:28263192; severity development, reliability, construct validity and outcome association
- Reliability
- α 0.85
- Citation
- Khan BA, Perkins AJ, Gao S, Hui SL, Campbell NL, Farber MO, Chlan LL, Boustani MA The Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7 Delirium Severity Scale: A Novel Delirium Severity Instrument for Use in the ICU Critical care medicine. 2017;45(5):851-857. PMID 28263192
Copyright and reuse
- Information checked
- 2026-07-19
Instrument-specific terms apply. See the access and copyright policy or send a correction.
Sources checked 2026-07-24. How profiles are prepared.