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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThe most successful approach to preventing delirium is to target risk factors that might trigger an episode. Hospital environments present a special challenge — frequent room changes, use of restraints, invasive procedures, loud noises, poor lighting and lack of natural light can worsen confusion.
Strategies that have been proved to help prevent delirium in hospitalized people include:
- Simple and regular communication about current place and time
- Regular identification of important people, such as doctors, nurses and family members
- Stimulating activities
- Mobility and range-of-motion exercises
- Minimal use of psychoactive drugs
- Uninterrupted sleep
- Nondrug treatment for sleep problems or anxiety
- Adequate fluids and nutrition
- Use of eyeglasses, hearing aids and other adaptive equipment for vision or hearing impairment
- Pain management
- Delirium. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Inouye SK. Delirium in older persons. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;354:1157.
- Gleason OC. Delirium. American Family Physician. 2003;67:1027.
- Saxena S, et al. Delirium in the elderly: A clinical review. Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2009;85:405.
- Francis J, et al. Diagnosis of delirium and confusional states. http://www.uptodate.com/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Potter J, et al. The prevention, diagnosis and management of delirium in older people: Concise guidelines. Clinical Medicine. 2006;6:303.
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