title: Southwestern Internal Medicine Conference. Etiology and management of delirium.
abstract: Delirium has been recognized for the last 3 millennia and is the most common complication found in hospitalized patients aged 65 and older in the United States. However, critical basic science and clinical research did not progress until the DSM III criteria clearly defined delirium 20 years ago. The term delirium then replaced many nonspecific entities, such as acute confusion state, acute brain syndrome, metabolic encephalopathy, and toxic psychosis. This review discusses the epidemiology, risk factors, interventions, causes, management, and outcomes of delirium. The pathophysiology of delirium has the potential to radically alter our management of delirium and is a controversial area of research.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, The Mildred Wyatt and Ivor P. Wold Center for Geriatric Care, Department of Internal Medicine, Dallas, Texas 75390-8889, USA. vivyenne.roche@utsouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: Vivyenne
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roche
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003693:Delirium / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D019452:Terminally Ill