Delirium is a significant source of suffering and distress for patients and loved ones. Commonly encountered across treatment settings, it is especially prevalent among patients with serious illness, with studies demonstrating rates of delirium as high as 74% in inpatient palliative care units. Given these consequences and the accompanying fear, anxiety, and loss of dignity that delirium causes, it is crucial for palliative care clinicians to have a solid understanding of delirium: what it is, how it presents, and how it is evaluated, prevented, and treated.
Links: Center to Advance Palliative Care (04/2023)
