What makes up the “DON’T” cocktail?
Dextrose
Oxygen
Naloxone
Thiamine
3% of patients arriving to ED are altered
◦ ___% metabolic or systemic derangements
◦ ___%structural lesions
85%
15%
Define Arousal and where in the brain this system acts?
awareness of self and surroundings
Ascending reticular activating system in the dorsal brainstem
This area of the brain controls input of somatic and sensory stimuli, arousal from sleep and is vulnerable to small lesions in the brainstem
– combo of orientation (accurate perception of experiences), judgment (process input into meaningful info), and memory (store and retrieve info)
Cognition
Where in the brain is the area respsonsible for cognition?
Cerebral cortex (rare to have bilateral lesions here causing AMS)
unconsciousness > 6 h
◦ Cannot be awakened
◦ No response to painful stimuli, light, or sound
◦ No normal sleep-wake cycle
◦ No voluntary actions
Coma
Possible causes of Coma
◦ Damage to brainstem, cortex, both
◦ Susceptible to toxins, metabolic derangements, mechanical injury
Three most common causes of AMS (altered mental status)
• Dementia • Delirium • Psychosis
Common causes of delerium
What medications can cause delirium
Alcohol withdrawal , Diuretics , Anticholinergics , Corticosteroids Digoxin Opioids, Antidepressants, Anxiolytics ,Hallucinogens/Dissociatives * Benzodiazepines Sympathomimetics
Structual causes of AMS
Trauma (like subdural or epidural hematoma)
Stroke syndromes–>lead to embolism or throbmoembolism
Hemorrhage
Tumor (originates in brain or mets to)
Pituitary issues
Acute hydrocephalus
Infection
Key characteristics of Delerium (making it diff then dementian)
Acute and rapid onset lasting days to weeks.
Flucuates in course and level of conciousness
Recent memory markedly impaired
visual hallucinations and disrupted sleep-wake cycles
Reversible with prominent physiological changes
What are common causes of AMS in an infant?
what about Child?
Infatnt: infection, trauma, metabolic
Child: think toxic ingestion
Common cause of AMS in young adults?
Elderly?
Young adults: toxic ingestion, drug use or trauma
Elderly: Medication, OTCs, infection (UTI), alterations in envrioment
More common causes of delerium
Severe illness
Drug toxicity
Fluid and electrolyte disturbances ◦ hyponatremia and azotemia
Infections
Hypothermia or hyperthermia
delirium is a______ that has an underlying cause that mush be recognized and identified.
Almost any illness can present as delirium in a susceptible patient.
SYMPTOM
The most important clue to delirium is the ____and ______
acuity of onset and fluctuation in course.
Delirium most commonly occurs in _____ and in patients with ____
Delirium is very common in sick, hospitalized patients over the age of 65.
older persons, underlying neurologic disease.
Predictors of delerium
Abnormal sodium level
Severe illness
Chronic cognitive impairment
Hypothermia or hyperthermia
Moderate illness
Psychoactive drug use
Azotemia
First steps in managing pt with delerium
First – ABCs ◦ Airway ◦ Breathing ◦ Circulation
What resources do you need to utilize when dealing with pt with delirium?
All sources of information
◦ EMS (Emergency Medical Services)
◦ Family
◦ EMR (Electronic Medical Record)
GCS for classification
◦ GCS = Glasgow Coma Scale What is this?
What is the Glasgow coma scale?
Low is BAD
High is GOOD

How do we manage a pt with Delirium after we have assessed ABCs
Basic neuro exam: devo Differential ◦ This is the list of things you need to be worried about
Work-up –> “DON’T” coma cocktail
◦ Labs ◦ Imaging ◦ Other tests
EKG, lumbar puncture
Treatment ◦ Antidotes, antibiotics, surgery, supportive care, metabolic cofactors (thiamine, folate)