Managing delirium in older people

Delirium can arise with almost any medical condition or treatment and may be the only indicator of the presence of physical disorder. Though it rarely has a single cause, many potential causes or risk factors are readily identified and should be addressed as part of appropriate management. The introduction of routine cognitive screening-with appropriate investigation of sudden changes in cognition and function-would improve the identification of cognitive impairment in general and acute cognitive change in particular. People involved in the treatment and care of older people may then consider delirium as a cause for cognitive or functional change before deciding that someone is “demented”.