Assessing Delirium

Assessing Delirium - #14

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Identify and assess delirium.

Patient in hospital or institution.

Elderly patient that either presents to the hospital or develops symptoms of altered mental status.

Acute cardiac/pulmonary events, bed rest, sedative or alcohol withdrawal, fluid/lyte abnormalities, infections, intracranial events, medications, anemia, uncontrolled pain, urinary retention or fecal impaction, indwelling devices, and restraints.

  1. Assessing the hospitalized patient for delirium
  2. Awareness of risk factors and medications for delirium
  3. Managing delirium with a completed diagnosis

[i] Inouye SK. The dilemma of delirium: Clinical and research controversies regarding diagnosis and evaluation of delirium in hospitalized elderly patients. Am J Med 1994; 97(3): 278-88. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=dilemma+of+delirum+clinical+and+research+controversies

This GFF ___ my competence in geriatrics.

Yana Thaker, Steven Denson MD, Kathryn Denson MD, Bambi Wessel

Medical College Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin