NR603 Delirium vs Dementia Assignment.

NR603 Delirium vs Dementia Assignment Hello Professor and Classmates, Delirium and Dementia Delirium is consider an acute disorder of attention, patients with this disorder will have the inability or disruption, which causes mental confusion making it difficult to think, remember, sleep and pay attention. This is seen relatively commonly in elderly people (Kukreja, Günther, & Popp, 2015). Delirium is a syndrome manifesting as an acute change in mental status that is characterized by inattention and disturbance in cognition that develops over a short period of time and tends to fluctuate. Delirium can also be preventable (Fong et al., 2015). Delirium can be experienced during alcohol withdraw or after a surgical procedure. There are also two different types of delirium which are hypoactive and hyperactive delirium that can occur, but hypoactive delirium is more likely. Delirium and dementia are two of the most common causes of cognitive impairment in older populations, yet their interrelationship remains poorly understood. Delirium and dementia can commonly coexist (Fong et al., 2015). Dementia is not a single disease but a general term to describe the loss of cognitive function which involves thinking, remembering, and reasoning and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities. Some of the symptoms include memory loss, language skills and visual perception. The incidence of dementia rises with age making it an increasingly common phenomenon within our aging population. Dementia is an insidious neurodegenerative condition, is characterized by chronic and progressive cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains that interferes with independence in everyday activities (Fong et al, 2015). There are also different subtypes of dementia such as Alzheimer disease, vascular disease, dementia with Lewy Bodies and fronto- temporal dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and a major contributor for global disease burden. Dementia can also be separated into three phases which are mild, moderate and severe