Delirium in the primary care setting

Delirium is a complex multifactorial neuropsychiatric syndrome with a broad range of cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms. It is associated with major adverse events and poor outcome. Little is known about delirium in the primary care setting. A retrospective chart review was carried out for the identification of ICD-10 delirium cases presented in the regional medical office of a rural area in central Greece. Nine cases of delirium, mostly the hyperactive subtype, had been recorded. The patients tended to be elderly and suffering from dementia; infections were the underlying cause in most cases. All but one patient had been successfully treated in the primary care setting.