Delirium
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Delirium is a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment. The start of delirium is usually rapid — within hours or a few days.
Delirium can often be traced to one or more contributing factors, such as a severe or chronic illness, changes in metabolic balance (such as low sodium), medication, infection, surgery, or alcohol or drug intoxication or withdrawal.
Because symptoms of delirium and dementia can be similar, input from a family member or caregiver may be important for a doctor to make an accurate diagnosis.
Signs and symptoms of delirium usually begin over a few hours or a few days. They often fluctuate throughout the day, and there may be periods of no symptoms. Symptoms tend to be worse during the night when it’s dark and things look less familiar. Primary signs and symptoms include those below.
This may result in:
This may appear as:
These may include:
These may appear as:
Experts have identified three types of delirium:
Dementia and delirium may be particularly difficult to distinguish, and a person may have both. In fact, delirium frequently occurs in people with dementia. But having episodes of delirium does not always mean a person has dementia. So a dementia assessment should not be done during a delirium episode because the results could be misleading.
Dementia is the progressive decline of memory and other thinking skills due to the gradual dysfunction and loss of brain cells. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
Some differences between the symptoms of delirium and dementia include:
If a relative, friend or someone in your care shows any signs or symptoms of delirium, see a doctor. Your input about the person’s symptoms, typical thinking and everyday abilities will be important for a proper diagnosis and for finding the underlying cause.
If you notice signs and symptoms of delirium in a person in a hospital or nursing home, report your concerns to the nursing staff or doctor rather than assuming that those problems have been observed. Older people recovering in the hospital or living in a long-term care facility are particularly at risk of delirium.
Delirium occurs when the normal sending and receiving of signals in the brain become impaired. This impairment is most likely caused by a combination of factors that make the brain vulnerable and trigger a malfunction in brain activity.
Delirium may have a single cause or more than one cause, such as a combination of a medical condition and drug toxicity. Sometimes no cause can be identified. Possible causes include:
Several medications or combinations of drugs can trigger delirium, including some types of:
Any condition that results in a hospital stay, especially in intensive care or after surgery, increases the risk of delirium, as does being a resident in a nursing home. Delirium is more common in older adults.
Examples of other conditions that increase the risk of delirium include:
Delirium may last only a few hours or as long as several weeks or months. If issues contributing to delirium are addressed, the recovery time is often shorter.
The degree of recovery depends to some extent on the health and mental status before the onset of delirium. People with dementia, for example, may experience a significant overall decline in memory and thinking skills. People in better health are more likely to fully recover.
People with other serious, chronic or terminal illnesses may not regain the levels of thinking skills or functioning that they had before the onset of delirium. Delirium in seriously ill people is also more likely to lead to:
The most successful approach to preventing delirium is to target risk factors that might trigger an episode. Hospital environments present a special challenge — frequent room changes, invasive procedures, loud noises, poor lighting, and lack of natural light and sleep can worsen confusion.
Evidence indicates that certain strategies — promoting good sleep habits, helping the person remain calm and well-oriented, and helping prevent medical problems or other complications — can help prevent or reduce the severity of delirium.
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Delirium
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