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Delirium In Elderly

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Delirium in the Older Adult Population
Delirium is a common issue found in older adults in the hospital and often not recognized until the illness develops, showing more evident and severe symptoms. Delirium is most commonly seen in the intensive care unit (ICU) and its frequency suggests an evident need for increased prevention. This paper will review an article by Susan Seliger, Another Hospital Hazard for the Elderly (see Appendix for more information), and look at various other perspectives focussing on the main arguments, as well as looking at personal understandings and biases, to better relate to and work with delirious older adults.
Summary of the Article To summarize Susan’s article, “Another Hospital Hazard for the Elderly”, it …show more content…
The cause of delirium is unknown however studies suggest that it is related to “disturbances in the neurotransmitters in the brain that modulate the control of cognitive function, behaviour and mood” (Touhy & Jett, 2012, p. 332). According to Touhy and Jett (2012) “87% of older adults in intensive care units” will experience delirium along with “65% after orthopedic surgery”, more common in hip fracture repair (p. 332). Delirium is most commonly seen in the hospital setting where the clients have just received surgery or have a medical illness that they are receiving medication for and this should be a flag for all healthcare workers to closely monitor these clients. Every behaviour has meaning and with nurses there is a need to be able to interpret these behaviours and give the client what they are …show more content…
Supporting this belief, Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Bucher, & Camera (2014) suggest that “30%- 40% of cases” of delirium are preventable and nurses are at the front line for prevention and early detection. Throughout nursing schooling, the main causes of hospital delirium mentioned were due to: infections, medications, dehydration, and falls, most common postoperatively. Not all these can be prevented, however, many can be modified to decrease the risk of delirium. The health care team must closely monitor clients who have these increased risk factors in order to help lessen the effects of the delirium (Philips, 2013). By early recognition the team can implement interventions to help the client during this time and decrease negative consequences. Using assessment tools such as the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) will help in early detection of delirium, in studies it shows a high sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 89% in diagnosing delirium (Panitchote et al., 2015). It is a nurse’s job to closely monitor clients and be able to detect changes in their condition, and intervene if

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