Altered mental status causes: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 01:58, 12 March 2014
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Altered mental status Microchapters |
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Altered mental status On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Altered mental status |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Pratik Bahekar, MBBS [2]
Overview
Altered mental status has varying time courses and degrees of severity. Acute changes in mental status are usually secondary to delirium, stupor, and coma, which are forms of acute brain dysfunction. These changes occur over a period of hours or days and are usually precipitated by an underlying medical illness that is potentially life threatening. Chronic alterations in mental status (e.g. dementia) occur over a period of months and years and are less likely to be precipitated by a life-threatening illness. For these reasons, acute changes in mental status will be the focus of this review. Altered mental status is rarely caused by psychiatric illnesses such as depression or schizophrenia, and in elder patients, these should be diagnoses of exclusion. Acute brain dysfunction (delirium, stupor, and coma) and their underlying etiology should be ruled out prior to considering any psychiatric diagnoses, especially in patients without a previous history of psychiatric illness.
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
Altered mental status is a life-threatening condition and must be treated as such irrespective of the causes.
Common Causes
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