Delirium, (Confusional State) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
By Kenneth Kee
()
About this ebook
This book describes the Delirium, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions
I was going to write about confusion (like how blurred a person) but apparently delirium also has the same connotation but more severe.
Delirium is a medical disorder which causes sudden severe confusion due to rapid changes in brain function that occurs with physical or mental illness.
Causes
Delirium has most frequently been the result of physical or mental illness, and is usually temporary and reversible.
Many illnesses cause delirium.
The medical disorders are those that do not permit the brain to get sufficient oxygen or other substances.
Causes are:
1. Alcohol or sedative drug withdrawal
2. Drug abuse
3. Electrolyte or other body chemical disturbances
4. Infections such as urinary tract infections or pneumonia (more likely in people who already have brain damage from stroke or dementia)
5. Poisons
6. Surgery
Symptoms
The common signs of delirium are the decreased attention span and a waxing and waning form of confusion.
A rapid change between mental conditions (for example, from lethargy to agitation and back to lethargy) also occurs in delirium.
Symptoms are:
1. Clouding of consciousness or awareness
2. Difficulty maintaining or shifting attention (typically more alert in the morning, less attentive at night)
3. Confusion (disorientation) about time or place
4. Illusions - Changes in feeling (sensation) and perception
5. Hallucinations
6. Fluctuating levels of consciousness - Changes in level of consciousness
7. Dysphasia
8. Dysarthria - Disorganized thinking, such as talking in a way that does not make sense
9. Tremor - Movements triggered by changes in the nervous system
10. Asterixis in hepatic encephalopathy and uremia
11. Motor abnormalities - (may be slow moving or hyperactive)
12. Problem concentrating
13. Decrease in short-term memory and recall
14. Emotional or personality changes, such as agitation, anger, irritability, depression, overly happy
15. Changes in sleep patterns, drowsiness
16. Incontinence
Diagnosis:
The diagnosis of delirium is clinical.
There is no laboratory test that can confirm a diagnosis of delirium.
Identification of delirium is by:
1. Confusion Assessment Method (CAM)
2. Delirium Symptom Interview (DSI)
3. Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU)
4. Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC)
The severity of delirium symptom can be checked by the Delirium Detection Scale (DDS) and the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS).
Many of the tests done may have abnormal results:
Treatment
The purpose of treatment is to control or reverse the cause of the symptoms.
The patient may be required to stay in the hospital for a short period.
Cessation or change of medications that make confusion worse may help to improve the mental function.
Medical disorders that make the confusion worse should be treated:
1. Anemia
2. Decreased oxygen (hypoxia)
3. Heart failure
4. High carbon dioxide levels (hypercapnia)
5. Infections
6. Kidney and liver failure
7. Nutritional disorders
8. Psychiatric conditions (such as depression)
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Delirium
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Confusion
Chapter 8 Dementia
Epilogue
Kenneth Kee
Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"
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Delirium, (Confusional State) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee
Delirium,
(Confusional State)
A
Simple
Guide
To
The Condition,
Diagnosis,
Treatment
And
Related Conditions
By
Dr Kenneth Kee
M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)
Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)
Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition
Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com
Dedication
This book is dedicated
To my wife Dorothy
And my children
Carolyn, Grace
And Kelvin
This book describes the Delirium, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions or in vernacular terms
(What You Need to treat Delirium)
This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Introduction
I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.
My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.
Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).
I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.
This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale
was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions
into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale
on http://ken-med.com.
From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 600 eBooks.
Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.
For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.
The later books go into more details of medical conditions.
The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.
Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.
As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.
Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.
I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.
I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.
I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.
Chapter 1
Delirium
I was going to write about confusion (like how blurred a person) but apparently delirium also has the same connotation but more severe.
Delirium is a medical disorder which