Acta medica Croatica : c̆asopis Hravatske akademije medicinskih znanosti
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Today's understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of delirium is still limited, but there are several promising hypotheses. It is believed that biomarkers sensitive to death of neurons or glial cells indicate delirium. Several neurotransmitters are considered to be involved in the state of delirium, with greatest emphasis on acetylcholine and dopamine acting in opposite ways; acetylcholine reduces, while dopamine increases neuron excitability. ⋯ Postoperative cognitive changes are more common in older than in younger patients, and they can be categorized as postoperative delirium, postoperative cognitive dysfunction and dementia. The mechanisms responsible for postoperative cognitive changes are not fully understood, but it is certain that they are multifactorial. Risk factors may be associated with patient characteristics, type of surgery and type of anesthesia.
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Delirium is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder and pediatric delirium (PD) is a similarly serious condition. PD is understudied and very often misdiagnosed, especially in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). ⋯ There are many scales and tests to diagnose delirium but none of them is specific enough to diagnose PD. Although PD is a serious complication at PICU, clinical guidelines for PD are still lacking, therefore additional investigations are needed to bring them out.
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Delirium is a significant psychiatric disorder in intensive care units that has negative impact on morbidity and mortality of intensive care patients. Subjective clinical assessment of patients by non-psychiatric health professionals in intensive care units is not sufficient for detection and measurement of delirium. Therefore, different scoring scales for delirium assessment have been developed. ⋯ Routine implementation of objective scoring scales is not widespread. Evidence suggests that objective assessment of delirium contributes to its early detection in intensive care and initiation of appropriate treatment. It is therefore advisable to make additional educational effort to provide an objective scoring scale for the assessment of delirium, such as CAM-ICU, to be routinely used in intensive care units.
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Mental disorders are characterized by disturbances of thought, perception, affect and behavior, which occur as a result of brain damage. Recognizing and treating these conditions is necessary not only for psychiatrists but for all physicians. Disorder of mental function is one of the most common associated conditions in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ The primary objective of prevention is appropriate therapy and correction of potential imbalances possibly underlying disturbances, stabilization of vital functions as well as early return to daily activities. Doctors and other medical staff must be aware of the importance and consequences of behavioral and emotional disorders in critically ill patients. Additional research is needed to discover the ways to prevent and/ or reduce the frequency and severity of the consequences and treatment of cognitive and emotional disorders.
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Delirium is a common problem in intensive care patients, frequently underdiagnosed and resulting in prolonged hospital stay and a high risk of morbidity and mortality. On the other hand, reversibility of the condition points to the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and immediate therapy. ⋯ Delirium management includes haloperidol as the first line medication, but also olanzapine and risperidone as atypical neuroleptics. Benzodiazepines are used in delirium caused by alcohol withdrawal.