Delirium And Dementia Essay

Delirium and dementia are both neurocognitive disorders affecting an individual’s cognition, memory, consciousness, and attention (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). These inhibitory components significantly impact an individuals’ function in daily life. Delirium can manifest from medical, surgical, or neurological states (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Etiological factors of delirium include systemic infections, electrolyte imbalances, hypoxemia, medications, and head trauma (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). In contrast, dementia obtains the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, head injury, HIV infection, medications, and several others (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is thought to progress from alterations in neurotransmission, plaques and tangles, genetic factors, and head trauma (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Although both diseases obtain similar clinical symptoms, the causative factors of each condition can help distinguish between delirium and dementia. …show more content…
The onset of delirium is an acute change in an individual’s mental status, in which sudden symptoms can develop over a course of hours or days (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). This sudden change in symptoms can fluctuate throughout the day and typically resolves once the underlying condition is promptly addressed (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Delirium is a temporary state of sudden change in mental status, which differentiates from the permanent progressive decline associated with dementia (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Dementia is a gradual permanent decline over months or years in cognitive functioning (Townsend & Morgan, 2017). Dementia often has a progressive onset of symptoms, but is a permanent state of problems in memory and cognition that interferes with everyday life (Townsend & Morgan,