A clinical study of delirium in children and adolescents.

A group of 33 children and early adolescents with acute central nervous system disorders of toxic, metabolic, traumatic, and other types were studied in the hospital. They were compared with a matched control group, also in the hospital, who had no central nervous system disorder. Methods of study for both groups included neurological examination; mental status; electroencephalographic tracings (using developmental norms established here); neuropsychological and other techniques carried out during the acute disorder and repeated after its subsidence. Results distinguished significantly between the two groups, confirming the findings of Romano and Engel with adults. Some interesting differences related to childhood developmental level were noted: the occurrence of regression, the persistence of mild perceptual-motor and other abnormalities for some weeks even after complete recovery (involving potential learning difficulties), and the finding of a significant number of "soft" neurological signs in the control group.