Levkoff Sue E, Liptzin Benjamin, Evans Denis A, Cleary Paul D, Lipsitz Lewis A, Wetle Terrie, Rowe John W
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1994;2(3):230-238. doi: 10.1097/00019442-199400230-00007. Epub 2013 Jan 28.
The authors describe the clinical course of delirium in 325 elderly patients hospitalized for acute care. Of those patients who developed DSM-III delirium (n = 91), over two-thirds of patients (69.2%) experienced a prodromal period of at least 1 day prior to meeting full DSM-III criteria. Clinical evidence of delirium frequently persisted after hospital discharge although there was evidence of lessening of the extent of symptoms over time. These findings have implications for discharge planners concerned with providing appropriate supports for those still experiencing delirium symptoms at the time of hospital discharge.
作者描述了325名因急症住院的老年患者谵妄的临床病程。在那些出现《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第三版（DSM-III）所定义谵妄的患者中（n = 91），超过三分之二的患者（69.2%）在达到完整的DSM-III标准之前经历了至少1天的前驱期。尽管有证据表明随着时间推移症状程度有所减轻，但谵妄的临床证据在出院后仍经常持续存在。这些发现对负责为那些在出院时仍有谵妄症状的患者提供适当支持的出院计划制定者具有启示意义。
