Delirium en el hospital, una revisión narrativa / Delirium in the hospital, a narrative review

El delirium es una complicación frecuente entre pacientes hospitalizados, particularmente entre adultos mayores y aquellos con deterioro cognitivo. Se ha asociado a mayor mortalidad, estadías hospitalarias prolongadas, deterioro cognitivo, mayores tasas de institucionalización al alta y mayores costos para los sistemas de salud. Su fisiopatología es escasamente comprendida, planteándose en los últimos años un origen inflamatorio predominante. Ello explicaría su transversalidad y relación con la gravedad de cuadros subyacentes. Clínicamente se caracteriza por su inicio agudo con curso fluctuante, inatención, pensamiento desorganizado y un nivel de conciencia alterado. El enfrentamiento diagnóstico exige la búsqueda sistemática de desencadenantes en forma adicional a las manifestaciones del síndrome. Su tratamiento sintomático está basado en los neurolépticos como primera línea y el lorazepam en caso de que los primeros no puedan utilizarse o exista un escenario de indicación especial. Existe evidencia de que el cuadro puede prevenirse mediante la instauración de estrategias multicomponentes.

Delirium is a common complication in hospitalized patients, particularly the elderly and those with cognitive impairment. It has been associated with higher mortality, prolonged hospitalization, cognitive impairment, higher rates of institutionalization at discharge and higher costs for healthcare systems. Its pathophysiology is poorly understood, and more recently a predominantly inflammatory origin has been proposed, which could explain its pervasiveness and association with underlying conditions. Clinically, it is characterized by acute onset with fluctuating course, inattention, disorganized thinking and altered level of consciousness. Diagnostic approach is based on the systematic search for triggering factors as well as the manifestations of the syndrome. Symptomatic treatment is based neuroleptics as first line treatment, and lorazepam when the former cannot be used or there are special indications. There is evidence that the condition can be prevented by resorting to multi-component strategies.

Estado confusional agudo / Acute confusional status

Estado confusional agudo é um termo utilizado na prática médica para a designação de delirium, uma síndrome neuropsiquiátrica aguda decorrente de uma patologia orgânica subjacente. Apesar de ser altamente prevalente e um potencial alerta para um distúrbio em evolução, o delirium pode passar despercebido. Os autores fazem uma revisão sobre o assunto, com ênfase no diagnóstico etiológico de suas principais patologias de base.

Acute confusional state is a termination used in the clinical practice to designate delirium, an acute neuropsychiatric syndrome due to an underlying organic pathology. Despite being highly prevalent and a potential alert for an ongoing disorder, delirium may go unnoticed. The authors make a review about the subject, emphasizing the etiologic diagnosis of its main base pathologies.

A comparative study of the clinico-aetiological profile of hyponatremia at presentation with that developing in the hospital

Background & objectives: Hyponatremia is a common problem encountered in patients presenting with nonspecific symptoms. We undertook this study to investigate the clinical profile of patients with hyponatremia, the precipitating factors, the response to therapy and to compare, using these parameters, hyponatremia at presentation to that developing in the hospital. Methods: Seventy consecutive patients with serum sodium less than or equal to 125 mmol/l at presentation or at any time during hospital admission were identified and studied using a proforma. The severity of hyponatremia, therapy given and time taken for recovery were analysed. Results: The mean age of patients was 48.1 ± 16.1 yr. The mean serum sodium was 117.8 ± 6.4 mmol/l. Confusion, headache and malaise were the most common symptoms, two patients had seizures, and 20.0 per cent patients showed no clinical manifestations. Nausea was significantly (P<0.05) more common in patients presenting with hyponatremia. 22 patients (31.4%) developed hyponatremia during their stay in the hospital. 3 patients (4.3%) presented with hyponatremia which got worse during the admission period. Most had multiple precipitating factors, decreased intake being the most common (82.9%), followed by increased losses (65.7%) and miscellaneous factors (70.0%). Drugs, fluid overload and inappropriate Ryle's tube feeds more commonly precipitated hyponatremia in in-hospital patients. Time taken for recovery showed negative correlation with the serum sodium. Patients with in-hospital hyponatremia took significantly longer time to recover (P<0.05). Interpretation & conclusions: Decreased intake was found to be the commonest cause of hyponatremia, thus, ensuring adequate oral intake, especially in patients on liquid diet and in manual labourers, and correction of hyponatremia as soon as an abnormality is detected is important.

Síndrome confusional agudo como forma de presentación de un absceso espinal / Acute confusional syndrome presenting as a spinal abscess

Fundamento: La alteración del nivel de conciencia puede ser producida por múltiples causas, es un síndrome que requiere de una actuación ordenada, rápida y eficaz; ya que se trata de una urgencia médica en la que el tiempo siempre va en contra del paciente. La aproximación al paciente geriátrico con alteración del nivel de conciencia debe ir encaminada al tratamiento de su causa y prevención de sus complicaciones. Objetivo. Presentar un caso poco frecuente con un absceso espinal que debutó con un síndrome confusional agudo. Caso Clínico: Paciente de 62 años de edad que inicia de forma aguda con cambio en su comportamiento, insomnio, abandono de hábitos cotidianos, se le olvida donde deja las cosas y está muy irritable. Al examen físico. Se encuentra: Trastornos en la perceptividad y esfera cognitiva, dolor a la percusión, movilización de las espinosas dorsales I Y II (DI-DII). Se practicó una Resonancia magnética nuclear (RMN) de región dorsal, la cual demostró la presencia de una lesión en el espacio epidural que se extendía desde el segundo al sexto segmento (DII a DVI) .Se llevó de forma urgente al salón de operaciones, se realizó abordaje posterior al raquis dorsal, a través del cual se evacuó un absceso epidural. En un período de 12 días las manifestaciones neuropsiquiatrías desaparecieron. Conclusiones. El síndrome confusional agudo es una patología que se puede ver entre el 10-15 por ciento de los pacientes con una enfermedad médico-quirúrgico, incidencia que se eleva hasta el 30 por ciento en los ancianos, y puede ser la forma de presentación poco frecuente de una infección intrarraquídea. El diagnóstico oportuno y tratamiento eficaz impidieron la progresión de las manifestaciones neurológicas y revirtieron la sintomatología.

Confusion and fever in the elderly: the necessity of lumbar puncture for CSF examination

To determine the necessity of lumbar puncture for the cerebrospinal fluid examination in the evaluation of hospitalized elderly patients with confusion and fever. It is a descriptive study conducted in Ahwaz a city southwest Iran, from July 2006 to June 2007. Sixty elderly patients with confusion and fever admitted to a teaching hospital, who had a lumbar puncture and cerebrospinal fluid evaluation to evaluate fever and confusion, were studied. After final diagnosis patients were placed in two groups [meningitis group and bacteremic group] and compared in SPSS using chi square test. Of the total sixty patients, six [10%] were diagnosed as bacterial meningitis. The remaining fifty four [90%] were diagnosed as bacteremia. The primary origins for fever and confusion in bacteremic patients included urinary tract infections [20%], pneumonia [45%], gastroenteritis [17%] and soft tissus infection [8%]. Most hospitalized, elderly patients with fever and confusion have primary causes of the confusion outside the central nervous system and may not require a routine evaluation of their cerebrospinal fluid

Validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for the detection of delirium in the elderly

This study has tested the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), a diagnostic assessment instrument for delirium developed by Inouye et al. (1990). The sample was formed by 100 patients with 60 and more years of age, admitted at the emergency service of Santa Casa de Säo Paulo, in the time periods between July and August, 1996, November and December, 1996 and February and March, 1997. The sensibility was 94.1 percent and specificity 96.4 percent. The assessors reliability in a sample of the 24 patients resulted in a kappa = 0.70. We have concluded that CAM is an adequate instrument to assess the presence of delirium, reliable to assess elderly patients at the emergency services

Apraxia ideatoría en la psicosis confusional / Ideational apraxia in confusional psychosis

La apraxia ideatoria de Pick siempre ha sido una cuestión de los neurólogos, pues es una de las manifestaciones permanentes de las lesiones cerebrales localizadas en el territorio posterior del hemisferio izquierdo. Pero, además, la apraxia ideatoria puede aparecer, junto con los falsos reconocimientos y la desorientación espacial, integrando las manifestaciones transitorias de la psicosis confusional. Parece legítimo incorporar la apraxia ideatoria entre los síntomas que deben buscarse en los estados psicoticos cicloides que incluyen la psicosis confusional. De esta manera la apraxia de Pick es también una cuestión de los psiquiatras.

Lúpus eritematoso sistêmico: atrofia cerebral e manifestaçöes neuropsiquiátricas / Systemic lupus erythematosus: cerebral atrophy and neuropsychiatric manifestations

Os autores relatam o caso de uma paciente de 17 anos de idade, sexo feminino, com poliartrite, febre, insuficiência cardíaca, alteraçäo do comportamento e hipertonia plástica. O diagnóstico de LES foi confirmado laboratorialmente somente através de anticorpos anti-Sm e anti-Ro. Foi realizada tomografia computadorizada cerebral (TCC), que revelou acentuaçäo dos sulcos cerebrais e calcificaçöes periventriculares. A introduçäo de prednisona reverteu o quadro neurpsiquiátrico e uma nova TCC, realizada quatro meses após a primeira, näo demonstrou a referida acentuaçäo dos sulcos cerebrais, mantendo-se apenas as calcificaçöes