Delirium and amnesic syndrome Flashcards
What is delirium?
Transient organic mental syndrome of acute or subacute onset, characterised by global cognitive im[airment
What are the risk factors for delirium?
> 65
Background of dementia
Significant injury
Polypharmacy
What are some causes of delirium?
Infection Constipation Change in environment Medication Dehydration Hypo or hyperglycaemia Alcohol/drug withdrawal Endocrinopathies Neurological SLE Cerebral vasculitis Paraneoplastic syndrome
What is the presentation of delirium?
Impairment of attention and memory Anterograde memory impairment Disorientation in time, person, place Fluctuating levels of consciousness Disordered sleep wake cycle Disorganised thinking- rambling, irrelevant speech Hallucinations, misidentification Depression, anxiety
What is the management of delirium?
Investigate and treat cause
Severe agitation= 0.5mg haloperidol
What can cause amnesic syndrome?
Hippocampal damage
Diencephalic damage
What can cause hippocampal damage?
Closed head injury Alzheimer's Herpes simplex encephalitis Anoxia Surgical removal of temporal lobes Bilat posterior cerebral artery occlusion
What can cause diencephalic damage?
Korsakoff’s syndrome
3rd ventricle cysts and tumours
Bilateral thalamic infarct
Subarachnoid haemorrhage
What is the presentation of amnesic syndrome?
Anterograde and retrograde amnesia
Preserved global intellectual abilities
Preserved registration, working memory and procedural memory
What is Anterograde amnesia?
Cannot create new memories, leading to partial/complete inability to recall recent past since amnesia
Long term memories remain intact
What is retrograde amnesia?
Inability to recall events from before amnesia began
