Delirium

Delirium Dementia Onset Acute or subacute Insidious Course Fluctuating, usually revolves over days to weeks Progressive Conscious level Often impaired, can fluctuate rapidly Clear until later stages Cognitive defects Poor short term memory, poor attention span Poor short term memory, attention less...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMJ 2002-09, Vol.325 (7365), p.644-647
Main Authors:	Brown, T M, Boyle, M F
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Aftercare - methods Alcohol Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use Clinical Review Consciousness Delirium Delirium - diagnosis Delirium - etiology Delirium - therapy Dementia Dementia - diagnosis Diagnosis, Differential Drugs Hallucinations Heart attacks Hospitals Humans Informed Consent Memory Mortality Patient Education as Topic Primary care Surgery
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Summary:	Delirium Dementia Onset Acute or subacute Insidious Course Fluctuating, usually revolves over days to weeks Progressive Conscious level Often impaired, can fluctuate rapidly Clear until later stages Cognitive defects Poor short term memory, poor attention span Poor short term memory, attention less affected until severe Hallucinations Common, especially visual Often absent Delusions Fleeting, non-systematised Often absent Psychomotor activity Increased, reduced, or unpredictable Can be normal Prevalence Most prevalence studies of delirium have been carried out in hospitalised medically ill patients, in whom the prevalence is about 25%. Don't forget alcohol and illicit drugs Withdrawal syndromes-Alcohol, sedative hypnotics, barbiturates Metabolic causes Hypoxia, hypoglycaemia, hepatic, renal or pulmonary insufficiency Endocrinopathies (such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hypopituitarism, hypoparathyroidism or hyperparathyroidism) Disorders of fluid and electrolyte balance Rare causes (such as porphyria, carcinoid syndrome) Infections Head trauma Epilepsy-Ictal, interictal, or postictal Neoplastic disease Vascular disorders Cerebrovascular (such as transient ischaemic attacks, thrombosis, embolism, migraine) Cardiovascular (such as myocardial infarction, cardiac failure) Underlying general medical conditions and their treatment Substance use or withdrawal Of multiple aetiology Of unknown aetiology.
ISSN:	0959-8138 1468-5833 1756-1833