Delirium

Delirium poses a significant challenge for clinicians, researchers, and healthcare policymakers due to its high prevalence across all care settings and the associated risk of short- and long-term complications, including mortality and dementia. Delirium is common among patients with frailty, which is one of its strongest predisposing factors. However, delirium care requires improvement, as it is often underrecognized and neglected, leading to suboptimal prevention and treatment. This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on the epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of delirium. Additionally, we discuss the current understanding of the relationship between delirium and frailty.