Title: DELIRIUM IN PALLIATIVE MEDICINE: A REVIEW

Biography:

Susan B LeGrand completed medical school at the University Of South Carolina School Of Medicine.Residency and Oncology Fellowship were completed at the University of Texas-Houston and the Arizona Cancer Center sequentially.

Abstract

Delirium is a neuropsychiatric diagnosis that is very common in general medical and surgical populations but of particular importance in palliative medicine. The incidence is twice that of a regular nursing floor averaging 30%. At end-of-life the percentage may be as high as 88%.Several different pathophysiologies have been investigated to define the underlying mechanisms to enable targeted therapy. The most commonly accepted cause is a decrease in acetylcholine and increased dopamine.

Presentation:

Delirium is a syndrome with myriad presentation usually divided into motoric subtypes -hypoactive, hyperactive and mixed. It is underdiagnosed particularly the hypoactive subgroup which may be more common in the palliative medicine population and may be confused with depression. Medications are the most common causes and unfortunately, the majority of medications used in palliative medicine have the potential to cause delirium.