Delirium in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Objective:

To study the clinical profile of children and adolescents (< 14 years) referred to the Consultation-Liaison (CL) psychiatry services of a Tertiary Care Centre.

Design:

Retrospective chart review.

Setting:

Patients seen by the CL psychiatry services of Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.

Participants:

Subjects diagnosed as delirium (as per ICD-10) during their inpatient stay was done. Main outcome measures: phenomenology of delirium and response to treatment.

Result:

Forty-six children and adolescents were diagnosed as delirium by the psychiatry consultation-liaison team. The most common underlying pathology was infection of various types, followed by neoplasms. All subjects exhibited sleep-wake cycle disturbance and impaired orientation. Other common symptoms were impaired attention (89.5%), impaired short-term memory (84.2%), agitation (68.4%), and lability of affect (60.5%). Delusions and hallucinations were reported by only a few patients. Most of the patients were treated with low dose haloperidol and they responded well.

Conclusion:

Sleep wake cycle disturbances and cognitive dysfunction are common in children and adolescents with delirium.