The Reality of Delirium Is Frightening, Dangerous, and Preventable.

Abstract

In fact, there is evidence to suggest that a sizable proportion of older people who are at substantially increased risk from the effects of medications acting in the central nervous system are indeed prescribed opioids, antipsychotics, and other drugs that may cause delirium as a side effect. In many instances, this prescription occurs in a dearth of evidence for any worthwhile benefit, and, at the same time, in full knowledge of the fact that the medications may cause harm. Even worse is that, in some cases, the older people who are given these medications are commonly affected by disorders of cognition, unable to communicate their symptoms effectively, and may have a diminished capacity to report side effects associated with the drugs. For health care practitioners who have spent time working in long-term care facilities or hospitals that provide care for older people, this phenomenon is only too well known.