NURSING 2LA2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Intracranial Hemorrhage, Hypervigilance, Dsm-5
19 Oct 2017
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Document Summary
Delirium: acute decline in the cognitive processes of the brain, most common in hospital patients 65, various symptoms and characteristics, cognitive functions fluctuate throughout the day. Inattention, disorganized thinking, disorientation, delusions, perceptual disturbances, impaired memory, speech, and trouble sleeping: 2/3 cases go unreported. Delirium: linked to poor clinical outcomes, marker for severe illness and mortality, 1 year mortality rate of 35-40% Indicates a cascade of pathophysiological changes that lead to: Increased morbity: loss of independence, yet only 40% of health care workers routinely screen at risk patients. Acute onset: abrupt, over hours or days- reliable info is needed to confirm the time course of onset. Fluctuating course: symptoms come and go or intensify and decrease in a day, lucid intervals. Inattention: difficulty focusing, sustaining, and shifting attention, following direction, maintaining a conversation. Disorganized thinking: disorganized speech, rambling or irrelevant conversations, illogical flow if ideas. Altered level of consciousness: reduced clarity of awareness of the environment.
