DELIRIUM IN GEROPSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS - PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS AND TREATMENT OUTCOMES

The authors examined the effect of hospitalization on cognitive and be havioral symptoms in delirious elderly patients with and without demen tia. Forty-four (13%) of the patients admitted to a Veterans Affairs M edical Center geropsychiatric unit were diagnosed with delirium and we re administered the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Hamilton Depres sion Rating Scale, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Rati ng Scale for Side Effects, and the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory . The total sample significantly improved on all measures. When patien ts with delirium were divided into subgroups with and without dementia , both subgroups improved similarly. Patients discharged to more restr ictive environments improved significantly on the BPRS only.