Mental confusion
Confusion (from Latin confusĭo, -ōnis, noun of action from confundere "to pour together", or "to mingle together" also "to confuse") is the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.
Medical term
| ICD-10 | R41.0 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 298.9 |
| MedlinePlus | 003205 |
| MeSH | D003221 |
The term, "acute mental confusion"[1] is often used interchangeably with delirium[2] in International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and Medical Subject Headings to describe a pathological degree in which it usually refers to loss of orientation (ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time,[3] location;[3] and/or personal identity[3]) and sometimes accompanied by disordered consciousness (loss of linear thinking)[3] and loss of memory (the ability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material).
Degrees and problems with diagnosis
The milder degrees of confusion as pathological symptoms are relative to previous function. For example: a mathematician confused about manipulation of simple fractions may be showing pathology which would not be diagnosable in a person without training in this area. Thus, as with the case of delirium, the minor degrees of pathological confusion cannot be diagnosed without knowledge of a person's "baseline", or normal, level of mental functioning.[citation needed]
Signs and symptoms
Mental confusion is a symptom, and it may range from mild to severe. The confused state may include jumbled or disorganized thought and unusual, bizarre, or aggressive behaviors. A person who is confused may have difficulty solving problems or tasks, especially those known to have been previously easy for the person. Other difficulties may manifest as an inability to recognize family members or familiar objects, or the inability to give approximate locations for family members not present. Sufferers may appear to be disoriented, drowsy, hyperactive, or anxious. In severe cases, the person may have hallucinations, feelings of paranoia, and a state of delirium.[citation needed]
Causes
Confusion may result from drug side effects.[4]
Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction. Acute confusion is often called delirium (also called acute confusional state),[5] although delirium also includes a much broader array of disorders than confusion (e.g. inability to focus attention; and various impairments in awareness, or temporal and spatial orientation).
Confusion may also result from chronic organic brain pathologies such as dementia.
Differential diagnosis
The most common causes of drug induced acute confusion are dopaminergic drugs used for Parkinson's disease, diuretics, tricyclic or tetracyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines. The elderly, and especially those with pre-existing dementia, are at most risk for drug induced acute confusional states.[6]
New research is finding a link between Vitamin D deficiencies and cognitive impairment, which includes memory loss and a 'foggy brain'.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Confusion Definition; Oxford Dictionary online; accessed .
- ↑ Delirium; Sympton Finder online ; accessed .
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 thefreedictionary.com > confusion (redirected from mental confusion) Citing: Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers; 2007; Saunders (an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.)
- ↑ Waters, Jo. "Why don't GPS warn you that statins can harm your memory?". Daily Mail.
- ↑ patient.co.uk > Acute Confusional State; Dr. Gurvinder Rull; Document ID/Version/Reference: 1714/22/bgp2104; (Updated: 13 Jan 2009); accessed: .
- ↑ Hufschmidt, A.; Shabarin, V.; Zimmer, T. (Dec 2009). "Drug-induced confusional states: the usual suspects?". Acta Neurologica Scandinavica 120 (6): 436–8. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01174.x. PMID 19804475.
- ↑ Vitamin D Linked to Cognitive Impairment; Third Age online; accessed: .
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Confusion. |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||