Delirium vs Dementia

Question 1

Development

Answer 1

Delirium: Acute

Dementia: Chronic, insidious

Question 2

Duration

Answer 2

Delirium: Transient, days to weeks to months

Dementia: Irreversible

Question 3

Presence of other disorder or physical problems

Answer 3

Delirium: Very common, eg severe illness, drug use or withdrawal, or a problem with metabolism

Dementia: Variable, possibly none

Question 4

Variation at night

Answer 4

Delirium: Invariably present, always worse

Dementia: Common, often worse

Question 5

Attention

Answer 5

Delirium: Greatly impaired

Dementia: Maintained until late stages

Question 6

Level of consciousness

Answer 6

Delirium: Fluctuating from lethargy to agitation

Dementia: Normal until late stages

Question 7

Orientation to surrounding

Answer 7

Delirium: Varies

Dementia: Impaired

Question 8

Use of language

Answer 8

Delirium: Slow, often incoherent, and inappropriate

Dementia: Sometimes difficulty finding the right word

Question 9

Memory

Answer 9

Delirium: Jumbled and confused

Dementia: lost, especially for recent events

Question 10

Mental function

Answer 10

Delirium: Lost, variably and unpredictably

Dementia: Lost, relatively consistently for all functions

Question 11

Cause

Answer 11

Delirium: Acute infective illness, drugs, dehydration

Dementia: AD, Vascular, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Question 12

Need for treatment?

Answer 12

Delirium: Treat cause

Dementia: Not necessarily required

Question 13

What are the factors that can be used to differentiate delirium from dementia?

Answer 13

“MM DATSS COCO”

M: Memory
M: Mental Function
D: Duration
A: Attention
T: Treatment
S: Speech
S: Sleep
C: Course/cause
O: Orientation
C: Conscious state
O: Onset