Delirium: Focus on the drugs

Abstract

Delirium is a complex phenomenon with a wide range of signs and symptoms coming from the central nervous system. The main characteristic of delirium is the clouding of consciousness. It is more common for older people under hospital treatment. Key delirium features state their fast and aggressive onset; the agents are predominantly exogenous, with clearly altered states of consciousness and attention, with the presence of hallucinations usually expressing misrepresentated observations. Epidemiological data clearly indicate that a particularly vulnerable part of the population are older hospitalized patients, particularly those who are exposed to orthopedic hip or heart surgery. This part of the population, according to age, commonly uses different medications, some of which have significant potential for the development of delirium. Different drugs have different potentials for delirium conditions development. Therefore, it is important to be familiar with those drugs for which there is a clearly defined and described delirious potential (anticholinergic drugs, hypnotics, antidepresives, analgesics… Knowing the potential, gives a significant advantage to the medical staff when they make decisions on the administration of certain classes of drugs, especially in the hospital setting. Additionally, the rapid recognition of delirium symptoms and patient's status during hospitalization or after surgical implantations are of importance. The existence of protocols for the diagnosis of delirium, as well as well-trained health personnel is an important prerequisite to recognize and treat delirium conditions for an effective fight against the emergence of delirium and to redress its consequences.