Tag Archives: delirium

Making the hospital a better place for seniors

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For more than 30 years, Dr. Sharon K. Inouye has dedicated herself to the identification and prevention of delirium in the hospital. She is the founder of the widely replicated Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP). In her last video, Dr. Inouye described prevention of delirium and long-term outcomes. She now discusses the difficulties elderly patients face in the hospital. She also talks about her ongoing efforts.

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A Patient with Delirium. Don’t Say: “You’re Confused!”

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Dr. Inouye has been discussing delirium. By coincidence I recently cared for a patient with acute and distressing delirium. Sue is an 80-year-old woman who has mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Recently she fell and fractured a small bone in her hand. She was seen in the emergency room and a cast was put on. She was given a narcotic, hydrocodone, to relieve the pain. That night, at 1:30 in the morning, she walked over to her neighbor’s house in her nightgown. Her husband was sleeping next to her but didn’t wake up. The neighbors brought her […]

Delirium, prevention and long-term outcomes

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For more than 30 years, Dr. Sharon K. Inouye has dedicated herself to the identification and prevention of delirium in the hospital. She created the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), the most widely used method for identification of delirium worldwide. In her last video, Dr. Inouye described the features of delirium. She now discusses preventative strategies and long-term outcomes.

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Dr. Sharon K. Inouye explains delirium in older patients

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Acute confusion is extremely common in hospitalized older adults. One third of general medical patients who are 70 years of age or older have delirium. For more than 30 years, Dr. Sharon K. Inouye has dedicated herself to the identification and prevention of delirium in the hospital. She created the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), the most widely used method for identification of delirium worldwide. In addition, she is the champion of the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP). In this video, Dr. Inouye explains delirium.

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Is Mom in the Hospital? Remember the 8 Ds

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Dr. Warren Wong

The hospital is a hard place for older patients. In a previous post, I described three awful things that happen too often. I was frequently asked to help care for frail older patients in the hospital. Based on these experiences, I came up with 8D's.

When you have an older loved one in the hospital, think of these 8 Ds:

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