https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2025.13861
Why it is important to recognize delirium in our emergency department
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Published: 13 June 2025
Dear Editor,
We feel it is appropriate to highlight the need for accurate diagnosis and sustained monitoring of delirium in the Emergency Department (ED) context. Despite the high-risk setting, there is a notable lack of research quantifying the incidence of delirium specifically within the ED, which remains a significant gap in the current literature. Over the past four decades, the published prevalence and incidence of delirium in adult acute medical inpatients has remained broadly stable at 23%1 (approximately one in four older hospitalized adults). A recent limited data collection in two emergency departments in northern Italy showed that the percentage of patients aged >65 years with delirium was 16.1% and 34.6%, respectively.2 Still now it remains poorly detected, being missed in up to 76% of cases attending the ED.3 [...]
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