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Delirium in Elderly Patients pp 49–57Cite as

Approach to the Elderly Patient with Delirium: Geriatrician’s Perspective

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Abstract

Delirium, a geriatric syndrome, is a complex clinical condition defined as an acute, fluctuating syndrome of altered attention, awareness, and cognition. Although delirium is common in the elderly, it can be easily unrecognized. The consequences could be significant such as an increase in mortality, hospitalization, loss of autonomy, and increased risk to be institutionalized. The predisposing and precipitating factors are well known, but the pathogenesis is not yet identified clearly. In the geriatric practice, delirium is associated with serious complications, but can also be treatable if diagnosed early and managed properly. It is important to health-care professionals to perform preventative strategies for patients at high risk and be aware of the potential for each single older adult to develop delirium, at the beginning. For these purpose, ensuring adequate vision, hearing, nutrition, hydration, and sleep, informing the caregivers about delirium for recognizing early symptoms of delirium, mobilizing the patient as early as possible, and managing the pain are strongly recommended. In addition, clinicians must identify the real underlying medical conditions at the same time. If non-pharmacologic interventions are insufficient, pharmacologic intervention should not be implemented.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, 35340, Izmir, Turkey

    Esra Ates Bulut M.D.

  2. Unit for Aging Brain and Dementia, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, 35340, Izmir, Turkey

    Ahmet Turan Isik M.D.

Authors
  1. Esra Ates Bulut M.D.
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  2. Ahmet Turan Isik M.D.
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Correspondence to Ahmet Turan Isik M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey

    Ahmet Turan Isik

  2. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Saint Louis University, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    George T. Grossberg

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Bulut, E.A., Isik, A.T. (2018). Approach to the Elderly Patient with Delirium: Geriatrician’s Perspective. In: Isik, A., Grossberg, G. (eds) Delirium in Elderly Patients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65239-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65239-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65237-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65239-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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