Abstract

SANCHEZ, Julio César; GONZALEZ, Martha Isabel  and  GUTIERREZ, Julio César. Delirium in Patients Over 60 Years of Age in a Tertiary Level Public Hospital in the City of Pereira (Colombia ): Under-Diagnosed and Under-Recorded. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2013, vol.42, n.2, pp.191-197. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Delirium is a common disorder in the hospitalized geriatric population and it has a great importance on the clinical outcome of inpatients; however, delirium is not diagnosed properly. Objective: To clarify the state of delirium diagnosis and records in a tertiary level public hospital in the city of Pereira. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed by searching the clinical records of hospitalized patients older than 60 years 2010 and 2011, using the ICD-10 classification as a filter, and verifying the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV in the clinical records. Results: In the years 2010 and 2011, 5325 patients older than 60 years were hospitalized (19.3 %). According to the official statistical records; 0.08 % of them were reported with an unspecified diagnosis of delirium (F059 ). In the clinical records search 455 additional delirium patients were found using the same criteria (40.2 %), of which 90.1 % had delirium, and only 29.5 % were classified with the code F059. Conclusions: The diagnoses and recording of delirium patients over 60 years old patients are underestimated, which is demonstrated by the incongruence of the data obtained from the official records and those obtained from the clinical records. This fact increases the risk and vulnerability of patients with undetected delirium or diagnosed but not reported delirium in hospital statistical sources. Liaison psychiatry is a necessity in third level health institutions, as well as a program of continued education for the health staff about prevention, diagnosis criteria and treatment of delirium.

Keywords : Delirium; Geriatric psychiatry; Liaison psychiatry.

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