Acute Confusional State

Abstract

Abstract Confusion is one of the most prevalent symptoms in palliative care. Different etiologies such as primary CNS disorders, systemic diseases, and exogenous intoxication or drug withdrawal may converge in a final common pathway probably involving the cholinergic system of the brain stem. Clinically, the differential diagnosis includes dementia and conditions that can lead to delirium in advanced medical illness, and in the difficulties of managing this complex clinical syndrome for relatively prolonged periods of time at the end of life.