The topic content is divided into the information types below
Scores on the 4AT used at scale in practice are strongly linked with 30-day mortality, length of hospital stay and home time. The findings highlight the need for better understanding of why delirium is linked with poor outcomes and also the need to improve delirium detection and treatment.
Delirium is common, distressing and associated with poor outcomes. Previous studies investigating the impact of delirium on cognitive outcomes have been limited by incomplete ascertainment of baseline cognition or lack of prospective delirium assessments.
This section of the BGS Delirium Hub examines some of the current research and evidence on delirium.
This guideline provides recommendations based on current evidence for best practice in the detection, assessment, treatment and follow up of adults with delirium.
Research is an essential part of the global and UK strategy and response to COVID-19. This is the British Geriatrics Society statement on research for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delirium is now recognised as a common symptom of coronavirus, and older people living in long-term care facilities are at higher risk, especially those with dementia.
This consensus advice has been drawn up by experts from the BGS, EDA and RCPsych. It should be used in conjunction with local policy and governance practice employed within your own organisation.
The prize is given annually to the most deserving medical research relating to the needs of older people, published over the last year in the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society,
Joint meeting between the British Geriatrics Society and Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland.
The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is used to detect delirium but its sensitivity is low when used in real-world settings. A study explored reasons for this through a series of focus groups with orthopaedic nurses at two academic hospitals in Hamilton, Canada.
Delirium is categorised by a sudden onset of fluctuating altered consciousness with changes to perception and cognitive function.
Clinical guidelines and tailored resources from NICE on supporting people with dementia, mental wellbeing of older people in care homes and a video illustrating the NICE quality standards for mental wellbeing in care homes.
People with dementia are not children. They are adults with a lifetime’s experience. Yet they are not entirely dissimilar. They are vulnerable and they can be as distressed and disoriented as a child.
Ten per cent of patients admitted to hospital as an emergency stay more than two weeks, using 55 per cent of all hospital bed days, and 80 per cent of that group are aged over 65 years. The average age of a hospital inpatient is over 80.
Feeling anxious from time to time is a normal human experience. When someone is anxious they might experience feelings of tension, nervousness, heightened awareness, fear or uncertainty, dry mouth and throat, and tightness in the chest.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are protections for adults who lack mental capacity to consent to, say, admission to hospital or a care home for treatment or care. Caroline Cooke and Premila Fade assess why they are being reviewed and the Law Commission's proposals.
What is mental capacity? What do we really mean when we ask if a patient has (or lacks) capacity? Capacity often depends on context. The ethical conundrum of mental capacity unravelled.
Older patients frequently have dysphagia resulting from acute or chronic illnesses. Dysphagia management requires a collaborative approach because of the complexities of older patients' needs, and geriatricians have an important role to play in overseeing this condition.