Patients with delirium (acute confusional state) show extensive cognitive deficits. These deficits have typically been measured using tests of fluid cognition, which involve the active processing of mental representations. However, the effects of delirium on stored, crystallized dimensions of cognition, such as well-learnt word pronunciation knowledge, are not known. In this study 37 patients (...

A 38-year-old Bangladeshi male presented to the Emergency Room with acute confusional state for 3 days, constitutional symptoms for 3 months and testicular mass for 2 months. Clinical examination revealed that he was febrile, confused, agitated with normal cranial nerves, normal motor system with bilateral down going planters, and there were no cerebeller sign. Systemic examination showed no ly...

Objective: We investigated the levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) interleukin 8 (IL-8) in neuropsychiatric manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus (NP-SLE). Methods: CSF samples were obtained from 48 SLE patients (35 patients with diffuse psychiatric/ neuropsychological syndromes [diffuse NP-SLE] and 13 patients with neurologic syndromes or peripheral neuropathy [focal NP-SLE]) as well ...

J Miller highlights an important diagnostic challenge. If fever and an acute confusional state are the only presenting signs, when is urinary infection the cause of clinical deterioration in elderly residents of nursing homes? In this situation, although a positive urine culture is necessary to diagnose a urinary infection, it is not sufficient. At any given time as many as 50% of residents wit...

People who have epilepsy seem particularly liable to certain major psychiatric disorders: a chronic interictal psychosis that closely resembles schizophrenia; and episodic psychotic states, some of which may arise in close temporal relation with seizure activity. These disorders are conventionally referred to as the psychoses of epilepsy although some of the episodic forms would be more accurat...

OBJECTIVES To (1) determine factors associated with psychotic-type symptoms in persons with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) during early recovery and (2) investigate the prognostic significance of early psychotic-type symptoms for patient outcome. SETTING Acute neurorehabilitation inpatient unit. PARTICIPANTS A total of 168 persons with moderate or severe TBI were admitted f...

Delirium or acute confusional syndrome is a common problem in geriatric patients, although its diagnosis often overlooked, especially hypoactive form. Risk factors for delirium are previous cognitive alterations and certain comorbidities, different environmental organic typical of critically ill patients. associated with increased short- long-term mortality, to the prolongation mechanical venti...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE The Organic Brain Syndrome (OBS) Scale was developed to determine elderly patients' disturbances of awareness and orientation as to time, place and own identity, and assessment of various emotional and behavioural symptoms appearing in delirium, dementia and other organic mental diseases. The aim of the study was to examine the OBS Scale, using the eight criteria and guidel...

BACKGROUND Unstable angina is a common cause of admission to hospitals. There is conflicting evidence on the need and success of urgent coronary revascularization in such cases. This study was conducted to evaluate the early post-operative morbidity and mortality of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) in patients with unstable angina. METHODS This cross sectional descriptive study was cond...

Patients with infarctions in the territory of the right middle cerebral artery (RMCA) sometimes present with an agitated confusional state. We reviewed clinical data on 46 patients with RMCA infarcts and compared neurologic findings in patients with and without agitated confusion. Neither of the two patients presenting with agitated confusion showed obvious localizing neurologic signs; subtle m...