People who appear quiet and withdrawn can be suffering delirium too (Image: Xavier Rossi/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)
Elderly patients are falling victim to an insidious epidemic of dementia. Can changes to the way they are cared for in hospital reduce the toll?
DELIRIUM conjures up images of alcoholics hallucinating during withdrawal. But in fact this kind of mental confusion is a common complication of hospital admission – especially among people over 65.
Delirium is up there with diabetes as one of the biggest drains on healthcare systems, costing $38 billion to $152 billion per year in the US alone, and it exacts a…
