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Delirium - Symptom

Alternative Names

Acute confusional state; Acute brain syndrome

Symptoms:

Delirium involves a quick change between mental states (for example, from lethargy to agitation and back to lethargy).

Symptoms include:

  • Changes in alertness (usually more alert in the morning, less alert at night)
  • Changes in feeling (sensation) and perception
  • Changes in level of consciousness or awareness
  • Changes in movement (for example, may be inactive or slow moving)
  • Changes in sleep patterns, drowsiness
  • Confusion (disorientation) about time or place
  • Decrease in short-term memory and recall
    • Unable to remember events since delirium began (anterograde amnesia)
    • Unable to remember past events (retrograde amnesia)
  • Disrupted or wandering attention
    • Inability to think or behave with purpose
    • Problems concentrating
  • Disorganized thinking
    • Speech that doesn't make sense (incoherent)
    • Inability to stop speech patterns or behaviors
  • Emotional or personality changes
  • Movements triggered by changes in the nervous system (psychomotor restlessness)

Signs and tests:

The following tests may have abnormal results:

  • An exam of the nervous system (neurologic examination)
  • Psychologic studies
  • Tests of feeling (sensation), thinking (cognitive function), and motor function

The following tests may also be done:

  • Reviewed last on: 2/13/2008
  • Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Departments of Anatomy & Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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