title: Delirium in the medically ill elderly: operationalizing the DSM-III criteria.
abstract: This prospective study determined the incidence and prevalence of delirium in 235 consecutive subjects over age 70 admitted to a general medicine hospital service. The DSM-III criteria for delirium were operationalized. Using accepted screening procedures, patients were referred for evaluation by a psychiatrist who determined whether delirium was present by applying explicit operational definitions to each of the DSM-III criteria. Data on presence and severity of each of the DSM-III symptoms were recorded. Analysis of these data indicates that the DSM-III criteria describe a discrete, recognizable syndrome. However, some of the symptoms are more specific than others in identifying the syndrome in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gottlieb
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wanich
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003693:Delirium / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics