Table 2.
Causes of delirium
| Causes of delirium | No antipsychotics [n = 40], %a |
Antipsychotics only [n = 123], %a | Antipsychotics + lorazepam [n = 49], %a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitating factors | Infection | 60.0 | 73.2 | 71.4 |
| Electrolyte disturbance | 25.0 | 9.8 | 16.3 | |
| Medication | 15.0 | 13.0 | 16.3 | |
| Metabolic disorder | 5.0 | 7.3 | 4.1 | |
| Dehydration | 5.0 | 3.3 | 10.2 | |
| Urinary retention | 0.0 | 3.3 | 14.3 | |
| Desaturation/hypoxia | 2.5 | 4.1 | 0.0 | |
| Hypothermia or fever | 2.5 | 2.4 | 0.0 | |
| Hematoma | 0.0 | 2.4 | 4.1 | |
| Rhabdomyolysis | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.1 | |
| Fall | 0.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | |
| Surgery | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.0 | |
| Predisposing or precipitating factor | Renal failure (chronic and acute) | 10.0 | 10.6 | 12.2 |
| Heart failure (chronic and acute) | 0.0 | 6.5 | 8.2 |
aThe total percentage does not add up to 100 because delirium is often a multifactorial condition