Delirium Symptoms

In common usage, delirium is often used to refer to drowsiness, disorientation, and hallucination.

In broader medical terminology, however, a number of other symptoms, including a sudden inability to focus attention, and even (occasionally) sleeplessness and severe agitation and irritability, also define "delirium," and hallucination, drowsiness, and disorientation are not required.

Known before as 'acute confusional state', delirium is one of the oldest forms of mental disorder known in medical history.

There are several medical definitions of delirium (including those in the DSM-IV and ICD-10). However, all include some core features.

The core features are:

• Disturbance of consciousness (that is, reduced clarity of awareness of the environment, with reduced ability to focus, sustain, or shift attention)
• Change in cognition (e.g., problem-solving impairment or memory impairment) or a perceptual disturbance
• Onset of hours to days, and tendency to fluctuate.

Common features also tend to include:

• Intrusive abnormalities of awareness and affect, such as hallucinations or inappropriate emotional states.

Further Reading

• Delirium - What is Delirium?
• Delirium Diagnosis
• Delirium Causes
• Delirium Treatments

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