Dementia/Delirium/Depression Flashcards
What is delirium?
a mental state of confusion that is often reversible
What is depression?
Depression is a mental disorder that is characterised by extreme low mood that has lasted for a minimum of two weeks
What is dementia?
Dementia is a neurological disorder characterised by brain abnormalities and loss of executive function
Onset of delirium
sudden - hours to days
describe the course of delirium
short and fluctuating
the duration of delirium
hours to less than a month
activity of someone with delirium - how do they seem?
agitated, restless, hyperactive
hypoactive - sleepy and slow
how alert might someone be with delirium
with likely be fluctuating - difficult to converse
the mood of someone with delirium
fluctuating
thinking of someone with delirium
disorganised
perception of someone with delirium
distorted - hallucinations and delusions
Patient just out surgery, alertness fluctuating, distorted erception and agitated
hyperactive delirium
How to assess someone with altered cognitive function and query delirium
The 4AT
Onset of dementia
slow and insidious - months/years
the course of dementia
progressive
duration of dementia
months to years
activity of dementia
wandering, agitated
alertness of dementia
normal
attention of dementia
normal
mood of dementia
low mood may be present
thinking in dementia
word-finding difficult
perception in people with dementia
usually normal in early stages apart from lewy-body
someone been suffering from personality changes the last 6 months and has begun to show signs of antegrade amnesia
finding words difficult and has been getting worse
dementia
the onset of depression
abrupt with life changes
- maybe an environmental stimulus