Delirium is a temporary, acute change in a patient's level of consciousness and cognition or perception that is caused by a medical condition. Classically, clinicians identify delirium by the presence of hallucinations, delusions, agitation, and disorientation. However, delirium appears to present itself in two prognostic categories: transient with less clinical significance and prolonged with greater clinical significance. Delirium is associated with a higher risk of falls, wound infections, and aspiration pneumonia. In cancer patients, delirium is further associated with increased risk of death during hospitalization and within five years of follow-up. While treatable with medications and appropriate care, delirium is underdiagnosed and undertreated, which can result in poor outcomes, patient and caregiver distress, and over-utilization of healthcare resources.
In order to improve clinical recognition of delirium in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell treatment (HSCT), Jesse R. Fann, M.D., M.P.H. of the University of Washington's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Division of Clinical Research and his colleagues followed 90 patients from before transplant to 30 days post-transplant and described the symptoms and time course as well as risk factors associated with delirium.
The authors found 50 percent of patients had delirium episodes, which could be categorized into three distinct clusters of symptoms: 1) psychotic and behavioral problems, 2) cognitive impairment
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Contact: David Greenberg
dgreenbe@wiley.com
201-748-6484
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
10-Jan-2005