n_test_cam
Table of Contents
CAM confusion assessment test for diagnosis of delirium
General points
- Ensure the patient is wearing glasses and/or hearing aids if required and assess the need for an interpreter.
- Daily testing may be indicated during hospital admission
- The diagnosis of delirium requires the presence of features 1 and 2 and either 3 or 4.
CAM assessment test
feature 1:
- Acute onset and fluctuating course
- Information usually obtained from positive responses from family / carers when asked:
- Questions:
- Was there an acute or sudden change in the person’s mental status / the way s/he usually is?
- Did the abnormal / strange behaviour fluctuate during the day / come and go / increase and decrease in severity?
feature 2:
- Inattention
- Did the person have difficulty focusing attention?
- Ie. Easily distractible or having difficulty keeping track
feature 3:
- Disorganised thinking
- Was the person’s thinking disorganised or incoherent, such as rambling or irrelevant conversation, unclear or illogical flow of ideas or unpredictable switching from one subject to another?
feature 4:
- Altered Level of Consciousness
- Overall, how would you rate the person’s level of consciousness? Alert / normal, vigilant / hyper-alert, drowsy, easily aroused, stupor / difficult to arouse or coma / unrousable.
reference
- Inouye SK1)
1)
Inouye SK, et al Ann Intern Med. 1990; 113:941-8
n_test_cam.txt · Last modified: 2010/04/06 11:05 by 127.0.0.1