Delirium is an acute neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by rapid-onset confusion, altered consciousness, and impaired cognitive function.
Clients have difficulty sustaining attention, problems in orientation and short-term memory, poor insight, and impaired judgment.
The confused client may not completely understand what is happening.
Altered consciousness ranging from hypervigilance to stupor or semicoma.
Extreme distractibility with difficulty focusing attention.
Disorientation to time and place.
Impaired reasoning ability and goal-directed behavior.
Disturbance in the sleep-wake cycle.
Emotional instability as manifested by fear, anxıety, depressıon, irritability, anger, euphoria, or apathy.
Misperceptions of the environment, including illusions and hallucinations.
Automatic manifestations, such as tachycardia, sweating, flushed fac͘e, dilated pupils, and elevated bľood pressure.
Incoherent speech.
Impairment of recent memory.
Lack of motivation to initiate and/or follow through with goal-directed or purposeful behavior
Fluctuation in psychomotor activity (tremors, bødy movement)
Misperceptions
Fluctuation in cognition
Increased agitation or restlessness
Fluctuation in the level of consciousness
Fluctuation in the sleep-wake cycl3
Hallucinations (visual/auditory), illusions
Impaired awareness and attention
Disorientation
Dysphasia, dysarthria