Delirium Superimposed on Dementia

Overview

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) describes delirium occurring in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) as delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) and delirium superimposed on Alzheimer’s disease. Although delirium and dementia have distinctly different causes and presentations, clinicians, including bedside and advanced practice nurses, may have difficulty distinguishing between the two when they occur simultaneously.

Understanding the condition, its causes and risk factors, appropriate health assessments, and interventions can help nurses serve as the first line of defense against DSD and safeguard these vulnerable patients using evidence-based interventions.

Key Learning Outcomes

1. Describe how to differentiate delirium and dementia and assess for delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD)
2. Discuss risk factors for DSD and the three subtypes
3. Describe how to prevent DSD and manage individuals with the condition

Presented by

Candace C. Harrington, PhD, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, CNE, FAAN; Ardis M. Roederer, DNP, Med, BSN, RN, AGACNP-BC; Hope K. Eppley, DNP, BSN, RN, and Pamela Z. Cacchione, PhD, CRNP, GNP-BC, FGSA, FAAN

 Candace C. Harrington is an assistant professor and gerontology nurse practitioner professor at the University of Louisville School of Nursing in Louisville, Kentucky. Ardis M. Roederer is an acute care NP at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Hope K. Eppley is a recent Doctor of Nursing practice graduate from the University of Louisville School of Nursing family NP track. Pamela Z. Cacchione is a professor of Geropsychiatric nursing and Ralston Endowed Term Chair in Gerontological Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia, a nurse Scientist at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Care Economics, University of Pennsylvania.