It is crucial to distinguish Delirium from Dementia. Delirium is an acute and fluctuating disturbance in attention, awareness, and cognition that develops over a short period (hours to days). It is a direct physiological consequence of another medical condition, substance intoxication or withdrawal, or medication effect, and it requires immediate medical attention.

Common Symptoms or Things to Look Out For:

• A disturbance in attention and awareness.
• The disturbance develops over a short period of time, represents a change from baseline, and tends to fluctuate in severity during the course of a day.
• An additional disturbance in cognition (e.g., memory deficit, disorientation, language, visuospatial ability, or perception).
• Evidence from the history, physical examination, or laboratory findings that the disturbance is a direct physiological consequence of another medical condition, substance intoxication or withdrawal, or exposure to a toxin.