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The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a diagnostic tool developed to allow physicians and nurses to identify delirium in the healthcare setting. [1] It was designed to be brief (less than 5 minutes to perform) and based on criteria from the third edition-revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) .
Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) [1] is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or multiple causes, which usually develops over the course of hours to days.
Patients with volume depletion may complain of thirst, muscle cramps, and/or orthostatic hypotension. Severe hypovolemic shock can result in mesenteric and coronary ischemia that can cause abdominal or chest pain. Agitation, lethargy, or confusion may characterize brain mal-perfusion. [4]
In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion" [ 1 ] is often used interchangeably with delirium [ 2 ] in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and the Medical Subject Headings publications to describe the pathology .
This may be followed by confusion, unconsciousness, or cardiac arrest, as complications worsen. [1] Shock is divided into four main types based on the underlying cause: hypovolemic, cardiogenic, obstructive, and distributive shock. [2] Hypovolemic shock, also known as low volume shock, may be from bleeding, diarrhea, or vomiting. [1]
In moderate hypoxia, restlessness, headache and confusion may occur, with coma and eventual death possible in severe cases. [8] In chronic presentation, dyspnea following exertion is most commonly mentioned. Symptoms of the underlying condition that caused the hypoxia may be apparent, and can help with differential diagnosis.
This is the most common cause of hypernatremia. [citation needed] Excessive losses of water from the urinary tract – which may be caused by glycosuria, or other osmotic diuretics (e.g., mannitol) – leads to a combination of sodium and free water losses. [citation needed] Water losses associated with extreme sweating. [citation needed]
The diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy is a clinical one, once other causes for confusion or coma have been excluded; no test fully diagnoses or excludes it. Serum ammonia levels are elevated in 90% of people, but not all hyperammonaemia (high ammonia levels in the blood) is associated with encephalopathy.