In
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"
[''Confusion Definition''](_blank)
on Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly:
Historical dictionaries
* ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'')
* ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', abridgement of the ''OED''
Single-volume d ...
. is often used interchangeably with
delirium
Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
in the ''
'' and the ''
Medical Subject Headings
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. It serves as a thesaurus that facilitates searching. Created and updated by the United States N ...
'' publications to describe the
pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
. These refer to the loss of
orientation
Orientation may refer to:
Positioning in physical space
* Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions
* Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building de ...
, or the ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location and personal identity. Mental confusion is sometimes accompanied by disordered
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
(the loss of linear thinking) and
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
loss (the inability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material).
[confusion]
in TheFreeDictionary, citing: Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers; 2007; Saunders.
Etymology
The word confusion derives from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word, ''confundo'', which means "confuse, mix, blend, pour together, disorder, embroil."
Causes
Confusion may result from drug side effects or from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction. Acute confusion is often called
delirium
Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
(or "acute confusional state"), although delirium often includes a much broader array of disorders than simple confusion. These disorders include the inability to focus attention; various impairments in awareness, and temporal or spatial dis-orientation. Mental confusion can result from chronic organic brain pathologies, such as
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
, as well.
Other
*
Acute stress reaction
*
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
*
Anemia
Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
*
Anticholinergic toxicity[ ]
*
Anxiety
*
Brain damage
Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...
*
Brain tumor
*
Concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
*
Dehydration
*
Encephalopathy
*
Epileptic seizure
*
Depression
*
Fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
*
Fever
*
Brain injury
*
Heat stroke
*
Hypoglycemia
*
Hypothermia
*
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism (also called ''underactive thyroid'', ''low thyroid'' or ''hypothyreosis'') is a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as po ...
*
Jet lag
*
Kidney failure
* Kidney infection (
pyelonephritis)
*
Lactic acidosis
*
Lassa fever
*
Lewy body dementia
*
Listeria
*
Lyme disease
*
Meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
*
Postpartum depression &
Postpartum psychosis
*
Psychotic Disorder
*
Reye's syndrome
*
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
*
Schizophrenia
*
Sick building syndrome
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is an unsubstantiated diagnosis where health problems are attributed to buildings. The cause of the health problems are unknown.
Symptoms attributed to SBS may or may not be a direct result of inadequate cleaning or ...
*
Sleep apnea
*
Stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
*
Yellow fever
*
STDs & STIs
*
Streptococcal
''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive ' (plural ) or spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell divisio ...
Infections
*
Toxicity
*
Toxic shock syndrome
*
Transient ischemic attack (TIA, Mini-Stroke)
*
Vitamin B12 deficiency
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...
* Acute
Porphyria
*
West Nile virus
Differential diagnosis
The most common causes of drug induced acute confusion are
dopaminergic
Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), dopamine being a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic brain pathways facilitate d ...
drugs (used for the treatment of
Parkinson's disease),
diuretics,
tricyclic,
tetracyclic antidepressants
Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs) are a class of antidepressants that were first introduced in the 1970s. They are named after their tetracyclic chemical structure, containing four rings of atoms, and are closely related to the tricyclic a ...
and
benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, i ...
or
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
. The elderly, and especially those with pre-existing dementia, are most at risk for drug induced acute confusional states. New research is finding a link between
vitamin D deficiency and
cognitive impairment (which includes "foggy brain").
See also
*
Cognitive distortion
References
External links
National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health
{{Cognition, perception, emotional state and behaviour symptoms and signs
Cognitive dissonance
Emotions
Neurology
Symptoms and signs of mental disorders
Failure
Mental states
Cognitive neuroscience
Error
Anxiety
de:Verworrenheit