Delirium

Type

Clinical Features

General

•  Disturbance in attention and awareness
  •  Inability to direct, focus, sustain, and shift attention
•  Disturbance develops over a short period of time
  •  Change from baseline
  •  Fluctuates during course of the day
  •  Usually hours to days
•  Disturbance in cognition
  •  Disorientation
  •  Language
  •  Memory deficit
  •  Perception
  •  Visuospatial ability
•  Disturbance not explained by another existing, preexisting, or evolving neurocognitive disorder
  •  Does not occur in setting of severely decreased arousal (eg, coma)
•  Disturbance is due to a medical condition, substance intoxication or withdrawal, or side effect of a medication
  •  Evidence from history
  •  Physical examination
  •  Laboratory findings

Possible additional features

•  Psychomotor behavioral disturbances
  •  Hyperactivity with increased sympathetic activity
  •  Hypoactivity
  •  Impairment in sleep duration and architecture
•  Changing emotional disturbances
  •  Depression
  •  Euphoria
  •  Fear