[pachyderm]

"Each year 20 percent of the 11.8 million elderly patients in hospitals develop delirium..."

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2...ly/?ref=health

[Perna]

There's also a role for families. Dr. Malaz Boustani, an associate professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, suggests the first step is awareness: recognize that your older parent or uncle is at higher risk of delirium if he has cognitive impairments or is over 75 years old or has multiple chronic illnesses.

If your loved-one is vulnerable, "work with their doctor," Boustani says. "Tell them that my mom or dad is scheduled for a hip replacement and I hear they could develop dementia after surgery. Can you tell me how you would assess their risk? Are they taking any medications that could increase that vulnerability? Could we hold off on that medication until after the surgery?"

From: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/...es-can-do.html

[Fresia]

Pachy's article could have been written about my grandmother, who prior to her fall and subsequent hip surgery was lucid, responsive, attuned, and interested in life, reading and interacting socially constantly. We did take in some of her own things into the hospital, such as some of her own pictures and nic-nacs when we realized she had developed this form of delirium right after surgery. The patients family and friends are their best advocate to work on their behalf with the docs and staff. It helped to bring some of her mind back but she was never the same after that.