This book is a comprehensive, contemporary examination of a single psychiatric illness, delirium, which has significant implications for all areas of medical practice. Given the increasing age of the population as well as the associated increased risk of a major neurocognitive disorder (formerly dementia), which is the major risk factor for delirium, such a book on the complexities of delirium is timely and needed; there is currently no clinical guidebook for the assessment and management of delirium. Delirium is seen in all medical settings, though the risk is higher in the ICU, medical/surgical wards, and the emergency department. Less commonly, delirium is seen in primary care and in the community, but those places are in need of delirium awareness, surveillance, and prevention. The authors take various approaches to the problem of delirium. This book includes the following chapters, Delirium Overview: The Classification, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Intervention in the Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Ward and Primary Care Settings, Initial Evaluation and Interview of the Delirious Patient, Preventive and Early Intervention Strategies for Delirium among Critically Ill Patients, Prevention of Delirium in the Medical Wards, Hypoactive Delirium in the Critical Care Setting, Postoperative Delirium, and Delirium Outcomes: A Look at Mortality, Persistent Delirium, Medical Complications and Cognition, to approach delirium in adult patients concerning several illnesses and care settings. Specific to this book are several chapters devoted to special topics in delirium: Pediatric Delirium, Psychiatric Disorders, Treatments, and Their Association with Delirium, Delirium Associated with Alcohol Use, Neuropsychological Assessment of Delirium in Older Adults, The Role of the Pharmacist in the Assessment and Management of Medication Induced Delirium, and Delirium and Legal Issues. These are areas often not emphasised in delirium management.

The authors hope that clinicians facing the daily challenges of delirium assessment and management will find this volume helpful in their daily work. The authors especially hope that students and resident trainees in all of the major healthcare disciplines find this volume useful in their own learning to master this ubiquitous, medically serious, and often challenging condition. Delirium is clearly everyones problem, and not just the concern of certain medical specialists.