Emma Vardy1, Rachel Holt, Alex Gerhard, Anna Richardson, Julie Snowden, David Neary. 1. Department of Older Peoples Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7DN, UK; Institute of Ageing and Health, Campus of Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Delirium is common and is associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, it is not clear whether delirium confers increased risk of any particular type of dementia. We performed a retrospective study of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) to ascertain whether a suspected episode of preceding delirium was more common prior to diagnosis in either type of dementia. METHODS: The study was carried out in a tertiary referral unit for the diagnosis of dementia. Clinic letters from the first presentation to the unit of 85 cases with DLB and 95 cases of AD were reviewed for documentation of any previous episodes of suspected delirium. RESULTS: In this study, 25% of DLB cases had at least one reported episode of suspected delirium as compared to 7% of AD cases (p = 0.001). For the DLB cases who had a prior suspected delirium, 23% had more than one episode compared with 14% of the AD group. The median time between most recent suspected episode of delirium and diagnosis of dementia in both groups was less than a year CONCLUSIONS: A greater proportion of those presenting and diagnosed with DLB had a documentation of a suspected delirium than those diagnosed with AD. Delirium may lead to a higher risk of DLB as opposed to other forms of dementia, or delirium may, at least in some cases, represent the early stages of DLB. These data suggest that a diagnosis of DLB should be specifically considered in those presenting with a delirium.
BACKGROUND:Delirium is common and is associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, it is not clear whether delirium confers increased risk of any particular type of dementia. We performed a retrospective study of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) to ascertain whether a suspected episode of preceding delirium was more common prior to diagnosis in either type of dementia. METHODS: The study was carried out in a tertiary referral unit for the diagnosis of dementia. Clinic letters from the first presentation to the unit of 85 cases with DLB and 95 cases of AD were reviewed for documentation of any previous episodes of suspected delirium. RESULTS: In this study, 25% of DLB cases had at least one reported episode of suspected delirium as compared to 7% of AD cases (p = 0.001). For the DLB cases who had a prior suspected delirium, 23% had more than one episode compared with 14% of the AD group. The median time between most recent suspected episode of delirium and diagnosis of dementia in both groups was less than a year CONCLUSIONS: A greater proportion of those presenting and diagnosed with DLB had a documentation of a suspected delirium than those diagnosed with AD. Delirium may lead to a higher risk of DLB as opposed to other forms of dementia, or delirium may, at least in some cases, represent the early stages of DLB. These data suggest that a diagnosis of DLB should be specifically considered in those presenting with a delirium.
Authors: Sarah Payne; Jane B Shofer; Andrew Shutes-David; Ge Li; Adrienne Jankowski; Pamela Dean; Debby Tsuang Journal: J Alzheimers Dis Date: 2022 Impact factor: 4.160
Authors: Alessandro Morandi; Daniel Davis; Giuseppe Bellelli; Rakesh C Arora; Gideon A Caplan; Barbara Kamholz; Ann Kolanowski; Donna Marie Fick; Stefan Kreisel; Alasdair MacLullich; David Meagher; Karen Neufeld; Pratik P Pandharipande; Sarah Richardson; Arjen J C Slooter; John P Taylor; Christine Thomas; Zoë Tieges; Andrew Teodorczuk; Philippe Voyer; James L Rudolph Journal: J Am Med Dir Assoc Date: 2016-09-16 Impact factor: 4.669