Determinants of the Motoric Subtypes of Delirium in Elderly

Abstract

Background Delirium is a common neuropsychiatric syndrome encountered in all hospital settings and is usually associated with many deleterious effects. Patients with delirium tend to require longer hospital stays and have higher mortality rates, even when the severity of their underlying illness is accounted for (1,2). Hospitalized patients with delirium are known to exhibit different symptoms ranging from lethargy and inattentiveness to restlessness, watchful, and combative behavior (3, 4). Based on systematic clinical observation of hospitalized patients, the spectrum of psychomotor behavior seen in delirious patients can be classified as hyperactive, hypoactive or mixed-type (4, 5). It has been suggested that each delirium subtype can result from a different pathophysiological mechanism,