Geriatrics Flashcards
What are the 4 core features of delirium
- Inatention (serial 7s, months backwards)
- Acute onset and fluctuating
- Disorganized thinking
- LOC altered (hypervigilant/somnolent)
*Need 1 and 2 and either 3 or 4 for Dx
What are factors that predispose to delirium?
- Age (RR4)
- Functional impairment (
- Known cognitive impairment (RR2.8)
- Sensory impairment
What are factors that precipitate delirium?
- Drugs (polypharmacy, sedatives) (RR 4.5)
- Physical restraints (RR 4.4)
- Infection (RR 3.1)
- Bladder catheter (RR 2.4)
What are the 3 delirium phenotypes
- Hyperactive
- Hypoactive
- Mixed
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have cognitive impairment
- Orientation protocols
- Provision of clocks and calendars
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have sensory impairment
- Provide glasses and hearing aids
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have malnutrition
- Dentures
- assistance with feeding
- positioning
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have fluid and electrolyte imbalances
- Assess volume status
- Normalise glucose and lytes
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have sleep deprivation
- Inpatient unit strategies to reduce noise
- Schedule meds and procedures to allow for prorper sleep
- Non-pharm measures to prevent sleep deprivation
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have Functionnal impairment
Mobilize early, get PT, OT involved
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have pain
- Schedule pain control
- judicious use of opioids
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients have iatrogenic complications
- Remove catheters
- Skin care regimens
- Bowel regimen
- Chest physio
- Treat nosocomial infections
What are strategies to prevent delirium when patients are on high-risk meds
Minimize benzos, anticholinergics, antihistamines
When should antipsychotics be considered in delirium?
- Patient is a danger to self or others
- Distressing psychosis
- Preventing medically necessary care
Give an approach to investigating the cause of delirium

What antipsychotics are acceptable in delirium
- Haldol
- Risperidone
- Olanzapine
- Quetiapine
- Lorazepam
- Trazodone
What are the cognitive aspects that decline with aging and the ones that are preserved
- Decline
- Performance speed
- Short term memory (i.e. recalling a list)
- Episodic memory (details about a previous event)
- Divided attention/task swiching
- Abstract reasoning
- “tip of the tongue” phenomenon
- Preserved
- Semantic memory (What is the capital of Turkey)
- Cued recall
- Sustained attention
- Vocabulary, Syntax, grrammar
What 4 questions should you ask yourself when evaluating cognitive impairement
- Is it dementia (Or MCI or SCI or something else)
- What dementia syndrome is it
- How severe is it
- Are there reversible causes
List risk factors for dementia
- Hearing loss
- Less education
- Smokiing
- Depression
- Social isolation
Describe the spectrum from SCI to terminal dementia

What is SCI
- No objective impairment on cognitive testing
- Preserved function
What is MCI
- Cognitive decline in 1 or more domains
- Objective impairment on cognitive test or screening
- Preserved function (normal ADLs IADLs)
- Ok to have coping strategies
- Not attributed to delirium, depression, psychosis, other medical etiologies
What is dementia
- Cognitive decline in 1 or more domain
- Objective impairment on cognitive screen or testing
- Functional impairment
- Earliest to go: Driving, finances, meds, meal prep
- Not attributed to delirium, depression, psychosis, other medical etiologies
What are the 5 cognitive domains?
- Executive function
- Any problems paying for something at the store?
- Clock drawing
- Trails
- Abstraction
- Letter fluency
- Language
- Mixing words?
- Naming
- Phrase/sentence repetition
- Animal fluency
- Visuospatial
- Putting clothes on wrong?
- Getting lost?
- Intersecting pentagons
- Trails, cubes
- Clock drawing
- Body orientation
- Personality
- Lost interest in previous activities?
- Memory
- Remembering appointments?
- Losing things?
- Immediate recall
- Delayed recall







