How do I use the 4AT tool for delirium?
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How do I use the 4AT tool for delirium?

Joshua Hammond Frailty practitioner, frailty support team, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Hampshire, England

Delirium is common in older people but should be treated as a time-critical change. It can be identified with 4AT, a simple-to-use, bedside test

Delirium is an acute deterioration in a person’s mental state, which usually arises over hours or days (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 2019). Common in older people, delirium causes neuronal damage, which increases the risk of falls, pressure injuries and infections (Aung Thein et al 2020). It should be treated using the three-stage process of suspecting, spotting and stopping it (Docherty and Mounsey 2016).

Nursing Older People. 34, 3, 19-19. doi: 10.7748/nop.34.3.19.s8

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