Neurocognitive Disorder Flashcards
What are the 3 main disorders in this chapter?
- delirium
- Dementia
- Alzheimer’s
What is a common complication of hospitalization esp. in older pts?
delirium
What causes delirium?
underlying physiological causes that are usually multifactorial and immediate factors that precipitate the syndrome
How do you help pts experiencing delirium?
help recognize and investigate potential causes ASAP
Define delirium
an acute cognitive disturbance and often reversible condition that is common in hospitalized pts.
List the characteristics of delirium
- altered LOC
- disorientation
- anxiety
- poor memory
- agitation
- poor memory
- delusional thinking
- hallucinations
Is delirium a medical ER?
yes
What are some screening tools for delirium?
mental and neurological status examinations and physical examinations
When should I consider a pt is experiencing delirium?
- when a pt abruptly demonstrates reduced clarity of awareness of the env
- the pt’s ability to direct, focus, sustain, or shift attention becomes impaired
- you have to repeat questions b/c the pt might get off easily and need to be refocused
- conversation is more difficult
- the pt no longer interact meaningfully, staring straight through you and not recalling who he/ she is
When assessing Sam’s neurological status, you expect delirium, why do you think that?
he has difficulty concentrated, first to time, then to place, and last to person.
When is delirium the worst?
only at night and lucid during the day
What is the difference of cognitive differences with mild and severe delirium?
is mild delirium, memory deficits are noticeable only on careful questioning and more severe delirium there is memory problems usually take the form of obvious difficulty in processing and remembering recent events
What is the difference between illusions and hallucinations?
- you can clarify illusions for the individual
2. illusions are errors in perception while hallucinations are false sensory stimuli
What are the more common hallucinations in delirious pts?
visual and tactile
Karen is wandering, pulling out IVs, her folley catheter, and falling out of bed, what are some nursing interventions for delirious pts?
- make the physical env simple and clear
- use clocks and calendar to maximize orientation to time
- eyeglasses, hearing aids, and adequate lighting w/o glare
- interact w/ the pt whenever he/she is awake
Susan has a HR of 104, diaphoresis, flushed face, dilated pupils and BP of 150/92. What is your nursing intervention?
monitor and document these changes carefully
What should i suspect meds as potential cause of?
delirium
What is the difference between hypoactive and hyperactive delirium?
hyperactive there is agitation and w/ hypoactive there is no agitation
What is the priority with a delirious pt?
safety
What are some nursing Dx for a pt w/ delirium?
- risk for injury
- acute confusion
- risk for deficient fluid vol.
- disturbed sleep or sleep deprivation
- Impaired verbal communication
- fear
- self-car deficits