Delirium | MedlinePlus

Delirium | MedlinePlus

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• Delirium Research: Where Am I?
• Digging into the Mysteries of Delirium
• Impact of Delirium

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Is it Delirium or Dementia?

Delirium and dementia have similar symptoms, so it can be hard to tell them apart. They can also occur together. Delirium starts suddenly and can cause hallucinations. The symptoms may get better or worse, and can last for hours or weeks. On the other hand, dementia develops slowly and does not cause hallucinations. The symptoms are stable and may last for months or years.

Delirium

    

Summary

Delirium is a condition that features rapidly changing mental states. It causes confusion and changes in behavior. Besides falling in and out of consciousness, there may be problems with

• Attention and awareness
• Thinking and memory
• Emotion
• Muscle control
• Sleeping and waking

Causes of delirium include medications, poisoning, serious illnesses or infections, and severe pain. It can also be part of some mental illnesses or dementia.

Delirium and dementia have similar symptoms, so it can be hard to tell them apart. They can also occur together. Delirium starts suddenly and can cause hallucinations. The symptoms may get better or worse, and can last for hours or weeks. On the other hand, dementia develops slowly and does not cause hallucinations. The symptoms are stable, and may last for months or years.

Delirium tremens is a serious type of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It usually happens to people who stop drinking after years of alcohol abuse.

People with delirium often, though not always, make a full recovery after their underlying illness is treated.

Learn More

• Delirium (Merck & Co., Inc.)Also in Spanish
• Delirium (PDQ)  (National Cancer Institute)Also in Spanish
• Delirium: Issues for Older Adults (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish
• The Dilemma of Delirium in Older Patients  (National Institute on Aging)
• What to Ask: Delirium (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Delirium  (National Institutes of Health)

Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Effect of Electroencephalography-Guided Anesthetic Administration on Postoperative Delirium Among Older... 
• Article: Pharmacologic interventions for preventing delirium in adult patients after cardiac... 
• Article: Delirium detection using relative delta power based on 1-minute single-channel... 
• Delirium -- see more articles 

Patient Handouts

• Delirium (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Delirium tremens (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish