title: The 3 Ds, and newly acquired cognitive impairment: issues for the ICU nurse.
abstract: As the United States population ages, patients in intensive care units (ICUs) bring with them the challenges of an aging population. One challenge is the different types of confusions seen in the geriatric patient. Intensive care unit nurses must be knowledgeable about the different types of confusions, be able to differentiate among them, and know the appropriate prevention and management strategies for each type. Failure to do so results in consequences that impact the patient long after the ICU stay had ended. The purpose of this article was to differentiate between the 3 most common confusions among older adults--delirium, dementia, and depression. In addition, this article discusses confusion seen postoperatively and post-ICU stay.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York (Ms Mandebvu and Dr Kalman).
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mandebvu
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D064648:Critical Care Nursing; D003693:Delirium / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D011182:Postoperative Care