Information

Delirium is a sudden change in the way someone thinks and acts for a short period of time.

Behaviour that is different from the persons normal self.

Delirium identification questionnaire for Carers.

It is important to take care of yourself to give proper and better support to those who need.

You can prepare for a hospital admission or visit to a person at risk of delirium.

An individualised care plan should be provided on discharge.

For more information on delirium and how to care for someone with delirium.

How delirium is different to dementia

The information used for this website come from the following evidence-based resources.

How do I know if I can trust this information?

Aggar C, Craswell A, Bail K, et al. (2024) A Toolkit for Delirium Identification and Promoting Partnerships Between Carers and Nurses: A Pilot Pre–Post Feasibility Study. J Gen Intern Med. DOI:1007/s11606-024-08734-6

Aggar C, Craswell A, Bail K, et al. (2023) Partnering with carers in the management of delirium in general acute care settings: An integrative review. Australas J Ageing. 42(4), 638-648. doi:10.1111/ajag.13229

Aggar C, Craswell A, Bail K, et al., (2022). Prevention and management of delirium in older Australians: The need for the integration of carers as partners in care. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 27, 100598. doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100598

Lindroth H, Bratzke L, Twadell S, et al. (2019) Predicting postoperative delirium severity in older adults: The role of surgical risk and executive function. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 34, 1018–1028. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5104

Lindroth H, Liu K, Szalacha L, et al. (2024) World delirium awareness and quality survey in 2023—a worldwide point prevalence study, Age and Ageing. 53(11), afae248, https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae248

Nagel, T., Apuatimi, A., Fitz, J. (2007). Delirium. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research https://www.menzies.edu.au/icms_docs/161599_Delirium.pdf

Sikandar H. Khan, Chenjia Xu, Russell Purpura, et al. (2020) Decreasing Delirium Through Music: A Randomized Pilot Trial. Am J Crit Care 29 (2): e31–e38. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2020175