Delirium: Concepts, Etiology, and Clinical Management

Delirium is a common condition: up to 35 percent of non-ICU- and 80 percent of ICU-patients experience delirium - particularly the elderly suffering from cerebral dysfunction accompanied by acute infection, surgery, or change of medication. Medical staff should be alert for decrease (withinhours) of concentration, memory, orientation, and consciousness - especially when agitation appears and symptoms are fluctuating. Vegetative lapses and seizures may complicate the course, in particular in delirium in withdrawal (of alcohol or drugs). Treatment comprises neuroleptic and sedative medication (be careful with benzodiazepines because of their delirogenic potential) as well as alpha-2-agonists for vegetative derangements and anti-epileptics in case of seizures. As usual: start with low doses, and keep the medical treatment as short as possible. Additionally, take care in the search and solution of delir-causes, termination of unnecessary medication (in particular, anticholinergic agents), comfort, intimacy and orientation, cognitive training and mobilization. Avoiding a delirium is the best medicine. For that reason, identification of patients at risk, early detection of signs of delirium and prevention are most important. Beside factors 2 to 4, personalized treatment has been proved to be very helpful.