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DEQ: Delirium Experience Questionnaire

2002

A six-question, face-valid interview about recall of a delirium episode and related distress, with an open description of the experience. It is used after recovery and does not detect current delirium.

At a glance

Purpose
Experience and impact
Population
Adult
Setting
General / acute hospital, Palliative care
Time
brief post-delirium interview; exact completion time not reported in the original paper
Items
6

Format: The DEQ uses six branching questions to record whether the person recalls confusion, distress when recall is absent or present, graded distress, and an open account. Parallel perspectives were obtained from patients, caregivers and nurses in the source study; exact wording is not reproduced.

Primary validation papers

0 identified diagnostic-accuracy papers

Other forms of validation are described in the evidence section. What is counted?

Large-scale clinical implementation

Not yet reviewed.

A focused implementation review has not yet been completed for this profile.

Training and instructions

Public training resources have not yet been confirmed in this review. Check the linked developer or original source for instructions.

Start here

Tool and original sources

This record describes a method rather than a downloadable bedside form. The main source is linked below.

NIDUS information cards ↗

Original paper

  • Original paperBreitbart W, Gibson C, Tremblay A. The delirium experience: delirium recall and delirium-related distress in hospitalized patients with cancer, their spouses/caregivers, and their nurses. Psychosomatics. 2002;43(3):183-94. doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.43.3.183. PMID: 12075033.

    This is the original published source for DEQ. It is the main source for the method, its intended use and the evidence available at publication.

    Open PubMed ↗
No eligible DTA study identifiedRelated context
Classification

Classification

Experience and impactDetailed phenomenological and/or neuropsychological assessmentInformant tools

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Evidence

Diagnostic-accuracy evidenceNo eligible DTA study identified

Reported sensitivity and specificity

;
Sensitivity
;
Specificity

Experience/distress measure, not a diagnostic test (n=154).

More evidence and citation details
Full name
Delirium Experience Questionnaire
Also known as
DEQ
Evidence summary
single
Citation
Breitbart W, Gibson C, Tremblay A. The delirium experience: delirium recall and delirium-related distress in hospitalized patients with cancer, their spouses/caregivers, and their nurses. Psychosomatics. 2002;43(3):183-94. PMID 12075033
Download RIS ↗ Download BibTeX ↗

Primary validation studies

Distinct primary publications from the current diagnostic-accuracy audit. Reviews and repeated evaluations within one paper are not counted again. Overlapping cohorts have not all been reconciled. Read the counting rules and limitations.

No eligible diagnostic-accuracy paper is currently included in this audit. This does not mean the tool has never been validated. The source paper and other evidence on this profile may concern severity, reliability or another measurement purpose.

Copyright and reuse
Information checked
2026-07-19

Instrument-specific terms apply. See the access and copyright policy or send a correction.

Base clinical review: 2026-07-29. Instrument description source check: 2026-09-05. Scope and limitations.