Delirium & Cognitive Impairment
Also: confusion · dementia · cognitive decline
Delirium is an acute, often reversible disturbance of attention and awareness, while dementia is a chronic decline — and the two frequently coexist. Structured screening tools support recognition and monitoring.
The cognitive and delirium screens, relevant drugs, and pathways are gathered here.
Calculators & scores
- 4AT — Rapid Assessment for DeliriumDiagnosis
- 4AT Delirium Assessment ToolDelirium
- Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS / AMT-10)Cognition
- Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMT-10)Cognitive Assessment
- Confusion Assessment Method for ICU (CAM-ICU)Delirium Assessment
- Confusion Assessment Method (CAM)Cognitive Assessment
- Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)Cognitive Assessment
- MoCA — Montreal Cognitive AssessmentCognitive Assessment
- 6-Item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT)Cognitive Assessment
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)Cognitive Assessment
- 6-CIT — Six-Item Cognitive Impairment TestCognition
- 6CIT — 6-Item Cognitive Impairment TestCognitive Assessment
- Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) ScaleDementia
- Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU)Delirium
Decision pathways
Drugs
- LorazepamBenzodiazepine
- DonepezilAcetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) — dementia
- MemantineNMDA receptor antagonist — dementia
- RivastigmineDual AChEI and BuChEI inhibitor — dementia
- Lorazepam (Elderly — Short-Term Use)Benzodiazepine
- Haloperidol (Delirium)Typical Antipsychotic (Butyrophenone)
- GalantamineAcetylcholinesterase Inhibitor
- Memantine hydrochlorideNMDA receptor antagonist
- HaloperidolTypical antipsychotic (butyrophenone)
- Lorazepam (Psychiatric/Acute Use)Benzodiazepine — Short-acting
- Haloperidol decanoateTypical depot antipsychotic
- Donepezil hydrochlorideAcetylcholinesterase inhibitor
Decision support only. These tools are aggregated by topic to aid navigation — always apply clinical judgement and the relevant national or local guideline.