Delirium and dementia

• Book ID: 102346097
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 34 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1553-5592
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.23

✦ Synopsis

Delirium is defined as a transient global disorder of cognition. Many factors lead to delirium including baseline vulnerability interacting with precipitants during hospitalization. Delirium affects an estimated 2.3 million hospitalized elders annually, accounting for 17.5 million inpatient days, and leading to more than $4 billion in Medicare costs. It is associated with increased mortality, high rates of functional and cognitive decline, prolonged lengths of stay and high rates of skilled nursing facility placement. The cost of caring for patients with delirium significantly impacts individual patients, families and hospital systems, and accounts for billions of the Medicare budget. Hospitalists lead their institutions in the development of screening and prevention protocols for patients at risk for delirium, and in the promotion of safe approaches to treatment. Hospitalists also develop strategies to operationalize cost-effective delirium prevention programs that will improve outcomes.