Research Essay - Improving health and Nursing Practice

Delirium is defined as “a mental and behavioural state of reduced comprehension, coherence and capacity to reason”. It is a common presentation among acutely ill patients and those presenting to emergency departments Delirium is characterised by an acute decline in levels of awareness and cognition, particularly attention . The syndrome involves perceptual disturbances, abnormal psychomotor activity and impairment in sleep-wake cycles. It can be life threatening. Its high prevalence, particularly in older people, in in-patient settings, combined with its low recognition rate and high mortality complicates the delivery of health care. Delirium is a fairly common clinical presentation to hospitals, which further increase during hospitalizations. It is often associated with increasing age, the presence of multiple co-morbidities and the use of multiple medications. It is often a product of multifactorial aetiology, which includes stress or trauma to the central nervous system, drug toxicity, medication withdrawal, and metabolic disorders secondary to organ failure. The multiple aetiologies result in a poor understanding of its pathophysiology and complicate its management.