Delirium : acute confusional states in palliative medicine / Augusto Caraceni and Luigi Grassi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Caraceni, Augusto.

Contributor:

Grassi, Luigi.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Delirium.

Palliative treatment.

Palliative Care--methods.

Medical Subjects:

Delirium.

Palliative Care--methods.

Physical Description:

xviii, 259 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.

Summary:

Delirium is a complex syndrome with a multifactorial aetiology and is characterized by marked disturbances of consciousness, attention, memory, perception, thought, sleep-wake cycle, and by fluctuation of symptoms. This book covers in detail the pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, and management of the syndrome. Due to the special characteristics of the syndrome, specific chapters deal with different aetiologies and populations at risk, with emphasis on the critically ill and palliative care patients. As delirium often announces or anticipates the proximity of death, family issues are considered in a comprehensive final chapter, covering the impact of terminal illness on the family and the process of bereavement. The book emphasises the need for assessing and diagnosing delirium with rellable instruments, and a chapter on assessment is reinforced by including appendices of many of the most relevant instruments reported in recent literature. The evidence from the literature is always distinguished from the authors' opinions and most chapters are integrated by the presentation of case examples. Delirium: Acute confusional states in palliative medicine demonstrates that only an interdisciplinary treatment of delirium between neurology, psychiatry and palliative medicine can develop knowledge of the syndrome and improve patient and family care. This book has been written for palliative care physicians and specialist nurses, neurologists, psychiatrists, and other health professionals treating terminally ill patients, offering them a clear account of how to recognize and deal with the syndrome.

Contents:

1 Delirium: historical concepts and current definitions 1

2 Pathophysiology 21

3 Epidemiology 32

4 Clinical phenomenology 42

5 Differential diagnosis 61

6 Frequent aetiologies 71

7 Frequent clinical subtypes

delirium in special populations 98

8 Diagnostic assessment 119

9 Management 131

10 Family issues 158

1 The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) 219

2 The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) 220

3 The Confusion Assessment Method ICU (CAM-ICU) 223

4 The Delirium Rating Scale (DRS) 225

5 The Delirium Rating Scale, revised, 1998 (DRS-R-98) 229

6 The Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) 236

7 The Confusion State Evaluation (CSE) Rating scale for assessment of delirium 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [183]-218) and index.

ISBN:

0192631993

OCLC:

51543781