Causes and Treatment of Delirium

1. Overview & Epidemiology

• Definition: Delirium is an acute, fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness with an additional cognitive disturbance, caused by a direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, substance intoxication/withdrawal, medication, toxin, or multiple etiologies. It is a medical emergency, not a primary psychiatric disorder.
• Core concept (Gajdos): Cognitive impairment is the cardinal symptom shared by delirium, dementia, and amnestic disorders — but in delirium the hallmark is the clouding of consciousness (acute, fluctuating), which distinguishes it from dementia (clear consciousness).
• **Organic mental disorder logic