The triglyceride glucose index and delirium risk in sepsis patients: A causal inference study

Abstract

Background: Sepsis, a grave systemic infection, presents substantial health challenges. While insulin resistance frequently occurs in sepsis conditions, its relationship with sepsis-associated delirium remains insufficiently explored. Aim: This study aimed to explore the causal effect between the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and its risk of delirium in patients with sepsis through the use of causal inference. Study Design: A cohort of 5461 sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) was selected from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database. Patients were grouped into high TyG (≥9.48) and low TyG (<9.48) categories. Propensity score matching was applied to control for confounders, and the average treatment effect on the treated was calculated. Results: Of the 5461 patients, 59.6% experienced delirium. The incidence of delirium was higher in the high TyG group (1751 patients; 66.6%) than in the low TyG group (56.3%) (p