Registered Nurses´ Association of Ontario
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Review for Causes of Delirium
| Mnemonic: I Watch Death |
Presenting Symptoms | |
|---|---|---|
| I | Infections | Urinary tract infection (UTI), pneumonia, encephalltis |
| W | Withdrawl | Alcohol, benzodiazepines, sedatives-hypnotics |
| A | Acute metabolic | Alcohol, benzodiazepines, sedatives-hypnotics |
| T | Toxins, drugs | Opiates, salycilates, indomethacin, lidocaine, dilantin, steroids, other drugs like digoxin, cardiac medications, anticholinergics, psychotropics |
| C | CNS pathology | Stroke, tumor, seizures, hemorrhage, infection |
| H | Hypoxia | Anemia, pulmonary/cardiac failure, hypotension |
| D | Deficiencies | Thiamine (with ETOH abuse), B12 |
| E | Endocrine | Thyroid, hypo/hyperglycemia, adrenal insufficiency, hyperparathyroid |
| A | Acute vascular | Shock, hypertensive encephalopathy |
| T | Trauma | Head injury, post-operative, falls |
| H | Heavy Metals | Heavy Metals |
Reprinted with permission of the American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., www.appi.org. Adapted from: Wise, M. G. (1986). Delirium. In R. E. Hales & S. C. Yudofsky (Eds.), American Psychiatric Press Textbook of Neuropsychiatry (pp. 89-103). Washington, D. C.: American Psychiatric Press Inc.
