Delirium – Acute Confusional States in Palliative Medicine, 2nd ed.

Citation

(2011), "Delirium – Acute Confusional States in Palliative Medicine, 2nd ed.", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 24 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2011.06224dae.002

Delirium – Acute Confusional States in Palliative Medicine, 2nd ed.

Delirium – Acute Confusional States in Palliative Medicine, 2nd ed.

Article Type: Recent publications From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 24, Issue 4

Augusto Caraceni and Luigi Grassi,OUP,January 2011,ISBN-13: 978-0-19-957205-2,

Keywords: Palliative healthcare management, Patient/carer involvement, Interdisciplinary healthcare delivery

Delirium is a complex syndrome with a multifactorial aetiology and is characterized by marked disturbances of consciousness, attention, memory, perception, thought, sleep-wake cycle, and by fluctuation of symptoms. This book covers in detail the pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, and management of the syndrome.

Owing to the special characteristics of the syndrome, specific chapters deal with different aetiologies and populations at risk, with emphasis on the critically ill and palliative care patients. As delirium often announces or anticipates the proximity of death, family issues are considered in a comprehensive final chapter, covering the impact of terminal illness on the family and the process of bereavement. The book emphasises the need for assessing and diagnosing delirium with reliable instruments, and a chapter on assessment is reinforced by including appendices of many of the most relevant instruments reported in recent literature. The evidence from the literature is always distinguished from the authors’ opinions and most chapters are integrated by the presentation of case examples. Updated for the second edition this book contains new material on topics including classification systems, more data on populations at risk, and significant new material on the family and bereavement.

The book demonstrates that only an interdisciplinary treatment of delirium between neurology, psychiatry and palliative medicine can develop knowledge of the syndrome and improve patient and family care. It has been written for palliative care physicians and specialist nurses, neurologists, psychiatrists, and other health professionals treating terminally ill patients, offering them a clear account of how to recognize and deal with the syndrome

Contents include:

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  List of abbreviations.

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  From history to present definitions.

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  Epidemiology.

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  Clinical phenomenology.

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  Differential diagnosis.

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  Frequent aetiologies.

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  Delirium in special populations.

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  Diagnostic assessment.

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  Management.

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  Family issues.