Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Submit your manuscript here

Click here to browse AJSM online!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Clinical Nursing Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Voyer, P.
Right arrow Articles by Belzile, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Voyer, P.
Right arrow Articles by Belzile, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Prevalence and Symptoms of Delirium Superimposed on Dementia

Philippe Voyer

Laval University, St. Sacrement Hospital Centre, Québec, Canada, philippe.voyer{at}fsi.ulaval.ca

Martin G. Cole

St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, McGill University, Montréal, Canada

Jane McCusker

St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, McGill University, Montréal, Canada

Éric Belzile

St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, Montréal, Canada

Delirium is a frequent syndrome among patients who are elderly. People who are older with cognitive impairment who are institutionalized are at increased risk of developing delirium when hospitalized. In addition, their prior cognitive impairment makes detecting their delirium a challenge. This study goal was to describe the effect of severity of prior cognitive impairment on delirium prevalence and symptom presentation among patients who were older and were newly admitted to an acute care hospital. A total of 104 were included in this descriptive study and screened for delirium. The results showed that the prevalence of delirium increased according to the severity of the patients’ prior cognitive impairment. Except for disorganized thinking, all symptoms of delirium were similar among patients with mild, moderate, and severe prior cognitive impairment. The study concluded that training nurses to recognize subtle changes in mental status among those patients who were older with prior cognitive impairment may prevent the underdetection of delirium.

Key Words: geriatric nursing • delirium • dementia • detection

Clinical Nursing Research, Vol. 15, No. 1, 46-66 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1054773805282299
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Geriatr Psychiatry NeurolHome page
A. Edlund, M. Lundstrom, O. Sandberg, G. Bucht, B. Brannstrom, and Y. Gustafson
Symptom Profile of Delirium in Older People With and Without Dementia
J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol, September 1, 2007; 20(3): 166 - 171.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ChestHome page
B. T. Pun and E. W. Ely
The Importance of Diagnosing and Managing ICU Delirium
Chest, August 1, 2007; 132(2): 624 - 636.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]