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Delirium in care homes

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2010

Najma Siddiqi ,
Andrew Clegg  and
John Young
Najma Siddiqi*
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds
Andrew Clegg
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds
John Young
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Najma Siddiqi, Meridian House, Bradford Road, Keighley BD21 4AD. Email: n.siddiqi@leeds.ac.uk
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Summary

Delirium is a distressing but preventable condition associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and significant financial costs. Most research on delirium has focused on high-risk patients in hospitals. Another group also at high risk are residents in care homes for older people. This report reviews the literature on the occurrence, aetiology, outcomes, prevention and treatment of delirium in long-term care. Delirium appears to be common in this setting, with a median point prevalence estimate of 14.2% in studies comparable to the UK. However, there is a paucity of high-quality studies, likely to reflect the difficulty in conducting research in this population and the particular challenges of investigating delirium. Addressing delirium successfully in care homes presents an opportunity to improve care standards and to reduce inequalities in health and social care. Well-designed prospective cohort studies and robust evaluations of interventions to prevent and treat delirium are needed.

Keywords

Deliriumacute confusionlong-term careolder peopleage
Type
Intermediate Care & Rehabilitation
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , November 2009 , pp. 309 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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