Palliative & supportive care
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Palliat Support Care · Jun 2004
ReviewThe delirium subtypes: a review of prevalence, phenomenology, pathophysiology, and treatment response.
Delirium is a highly prevalent disease in the elderly and postoperative, cancer, and AIDS patients. However it is often misdiagnosed and mistreated. This may be partly due to the inconsistencies of the diagnosis itself. ⋯ The mixed subtype of delirium seems to have the worst prognosis, the hyperactive showing the best prognosis. The treatment of the agitated delirious patient is also more consensual. Haloperidol remains the gold standard in the treatment of delirium regardless of the clinical presentation, but the literature provides several alternatives that may prove more specific and have less adverse effects (atypical antipsychotics, psychostimulants, anesthetics).