Confusion, is a mental and behavioral state of reduced cognition and understanding, comprehension and capacity to reason. Acute confusional state is called delirium.
Confusion means loss of orientation, or the ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location and personal identity.
Common causes of delirium are: encephalopathy, acute brain failure, postoperative or intensive care unit psychosis.
Delirium can have many manifestations but the most important hallmark is a deficit of attention.
attention, although all cognitive domains can be declined including memory, executive function, visuospatial tasks, and language.
Sometimes hallucinations or delusions can also occur.
Delirium described as-hyperactive and hypoactive,-based on differential psychomotor features.
Severe alcohol withdrawal is the classical example of hyperactive subtype of delirium.
This condition also called “delirium tremens”.
It is characterized by prominent hallucinations, agitation, and hyperarousal, often accompanied by
life-threatening autonomic instability.
In contrast: Hypoactive delirium is caused by benzodiazepine intoxication, in which
patients are withdrawn and quiet, with prominent apathy and psychomotor slowing.
In many cases delirium is reversible. Especially If it caused by: infection and medication effects, and can be treated easily.
Diagnosis of delirium is made by:
First; acute onset and fluctuating course.
Second: inattention accompanied by either disorganized thinking or an altered level of consciousness.
Risk Factors:
There are two groups of risk factors related to delirium: predisposing and precipitant factors.
Predisposing factors are: older age, (older than 70 years), dementia, functional disabilities, male gender, poor vision and hearing, and mild cognitive impairment and alcohol use.
Precipitating factors include medication side effects, which account for up to 39% of delirium cases.
Other precipitating factors include surgery, anesthesia, hypoxia, untreated pain, infections, acute illness, and an acute exacerbation of chronic illness.
Confusion is much more wider term then delirium.
Mental confusion can result from chronic organic brain pathologies, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Meningitis, Schizophrenia, and other mental disorders.
According to New researches vitamin D deficiency can cause cognitive impairment including "foggy brain".
The prevalence of delirium is higher in the elderly population. It is a common surgical complication among older adults, with an incidence reported up to 10 to 20% after major elective surgery and up to 50% after high-risk procedures.
By Abhinav10000 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
By MissLunaRose12 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
13 дек 2022
