Delirium and dementia are two distinct disorders, but they have overlapping symptoms which can lead to difficulty in differentiation
Delirium is a disorder that causes simultaneous disturbance of attention, orientation, awareness and global neurocognitive impairment with fluctuating symptoms that develop acutely (World Health Organization (WHO) 2023a). Delirium can be (Evans 2023):
» Hyperactive, presenting with agitation and restlessness.
» Hypoactive, presenting with sluggishness and inactivity.
» Mixed, presenting with both hyper and hypoactive symptoms.
Nursing Older People. 35, 3, 22-23. doi: 10.7748/nop.35.3.22.s9
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