What is delirium?

4 May 2021

It is a mental disorder in which mental clarity is affected, causing confusion in the reasoning processes and a loss of awareness of reality.

It usually manifests quickly, so delusional episodes can appear in a matter of minutes or hours, which are caused by an anomaly in the signal transmission and capture processes that can be due to various causes, individual or combined, such as:

Head injuries.
Stroke.
Severe dehydration.
Lack of sleep.
Nervous breakdowns.
Anesthetics.
Intoxication by drugs or poisonous substances.
Drug addiction and alcoholism, as well as withdrawal processes from both addictions.
Heart attack.
Respiratory insufficiency.
Excessive loss of electrolytes.
Extremely serious or terminal conditions.
Intense fever.
Serious infections.
Serious malnutrition.

Due to the similarity of symptoms, delirium can sometimes be confused with dementia, so the doctor requires the support of the patient’s relatives or caregivers to know their clinical history and the evolution of the delusional episode.

Signs and symptoms Delirium

Normally, the symptoms vary in intensity during the day, where there may even be periods of mental clarity, but the most common symptoms are:

Loss of awareness of reality.
Lack of ability to concentrate.
Obsessive thoughts.
Social isolation.
Short-term memory loss.
Confusion.
Problems speaking or understanding spoken language.
Incoherence.
Hallucinations.
Insomnia.
Paranoia.
Distress.
Depression.
Wrath.
Apathy.
Abrupt mood and personality changes.

Diagnosis and treatment Delirium

Once the specialist analyzes the symptoms and clinical history based on what the patient’s relatives have stated, they will perform a psychological evaluation, as well as a physical and neurological examination to determine the possible causes of the delirium, supported by blood and urine tests, in addition to imaging studies such as MRI and computed tomography if required.

Treatment focuses on alleviating the direct and indirect cause(s) of delirium, then addressing the brain processes and returning them to normal through medications and psychological therapy.

At the Neurological Center, a select group of highly trained and certified doctors in the various neurological specialties are ready to assist you with the quality and warmth that characterizes us.

Nervous system specialties

Neurology
Neurosurgery
Spine surgery
Pediatric neurosurgery
Neurophysiology
Neuro-rehabilitation
Neuro-pathology
Interventional neuro-radiology
Neuropsychology
Neuro-oncology
Neuro-otology
Epilepsy
Neuro-ophthalmology
Neuroimaging

Related centers and departments Delirium

Neurology Center
High Specialty Surgery Center
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

clevelandclinic.org
topdoctors.es
mayocilinic.org
medlineplus.gov
niddk.nih.gov
medigraphic.com
Fernández PM, Quevedo-Blasco R, Buela-Casal G. Diferencias en el estilo atribucional y de la autoestima en una muestra de pacientes delirantes. Salud Mental. 2010;33(6):527-534.
Chávez-Delgado ME, Virgen-Enciso M, Pérez-Guzmán J, et al. Detection of Delirium in Hospitalized Elderly Patients Using the Confusion Assessment Method. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2007;45(4):321-328.
Paizano VG, Araya OA, Chacón DS. Pharmacological treatment of delirium in the elderly. Revista Médica Sinergia. 2021;6(10):.
Recasens LMJ, Villamor OA, Sanz DMT, et al. Eficacia de un plan de cuidados de enfermería específico para el paciente con delirio. Rev Cuba Enf. 2019;35(1):1-11.

How can we help you?

The dissemination of the content of this material is for informational purposes only and does not replace, under any circumstance or condition, a consultation with a specialist doctor, for which the ABC Medical Center is not responsible for the different use that may be given to it. If you require more information related to the subject, we suggest you contact the specialist doctor you trust directly.

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Comparison of COVID-19 vaccines

Pfizer-
BioNTech

Pfizer-BioNTech

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vaccine type: mRNA
Effectiveness: 95% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

No Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 21 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

Who should or shouldn’t get the vaccine?
People who should receive the vaccine are those over 16 years old.
People who should not receive the vaccine are those who have a history of anaphylactic shock (severe allergy) or who are allergic to any component of this vaccine such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, malaise, and swollen lymph nodes.

How long will it take for me to be protected and what does it protect me from?
After 14 days of having the complete scheme (after the administration of the 2nd dose), the protection period is still under study. It protects us from serious COVID-19 or requiring hospitalization.

Moderna

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vaccine type: mRNA
Effectiveness: 94.5% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 28 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

Who should or shouldn’t get the vaccine?
People who should receive the vaccine are those over 18 years old.
People who should not receive the vaccine are those who have a history of anaphylactic shock (severe allergy) or who are allergic to any component of this vaccine.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes in the arm in which you received the injection.

Janssen/
Johnson
& Johnson

Janssen/ Johnson & Johnson

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 72.0% in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.
85% in the prevention of severe COVID-19.

Does not contain egg, latex, or preservatives./strong>

How many doses are needed?
Only one dose in needed.

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea.

How long will it take for me to be protected and what does it protect me from?
After 28 days of having the complete scheme (the last dose applied), the protection period is still under study. It protects us from 85% serious COVID-19 or requiring hospitalization.

AstraZeneca
and
Oxford
University

AstraZeneca and Oxford University

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Adenovirus vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 82% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 56 days apart (or up to 84 days apart, if necessary).

What are the possible side effects of the vaccine?
Pain where the injection was given, fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, and fever, which were mild to moderate in intensity and disappeared within 48 hours of vaccination.

Sputnik V

What is its effectiveness and what does it refer to?

Adenovirus vector-based vaccine.
Effectiveness: 92% after the second dose in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

How many doses are needed?
Two doses are needed, at least 21 days apart (or up to six weeks apart, if necessary).

What is delirium?

Signs and symptoms Delirium

Diagnosis and treatment Delirium

Related centers and departments Delirium

Fuentes:

Index

Specialist in Delirium