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Delirium

Delirium · Delirium (akutní zmatenost)

What it is

An acute confusional state from illness, drugs or dehydration — reversible if the cause is found.

Symptoms & signs

  • Sudden confusion over hours
  • fluctuating attention
  • hallucinations
  • reversed sleep
  • agitation or withdrawal

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Sudden confusion or drowsiness over hours to days
  • call 112 / 911 now Confusion with fever, fall, head injury or a new medicine
  • call 112 / 911 now Hard to wake, or not drinking
  • see a doctor soon Seeing things or agitation that is new

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Find and treat the cause (infection, drugs, pain, retention)
  • reorientation and daylight
  • avoid sedatives
  • haloperidol only if dangerous

Natural & lifestyle

  • Familiar faces and objects
  • glasses and hearing aids
  • hydration
  • mobilisation
  • sleep-wake routine
  • avoid catheters and restraints

Emerging & experimental

  • Delirium prevention bundles (HELP)
  • dexmedetomidine protocols in ICU

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Melatonin to prevent delirium — trials disagree mixed evidence
  • Music during hospital stays — small trials early / small studies

ICD codes