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Delayed diagnosis of delirium in hospitalized elders is common and costly. Delirium associated with agitation may be more likely to prompt investigation than hypoactive delirium, and premorbid dementia diagnoses may further complicate assessment and treatment of delirium. The Confusion Assessment Model (CAM) is a standard algorithm for delirium diagnosis in the research environment, but it has not been widely used in clinical practice. To address this disparity, researchers developed a rapid-use tool for bedside use.
The authors employed item-response theory to determine that 20 of 160 CAM items best operationalize the diagnostic features of acute cognitive change or fluctuating course, inattention, disorganized thinking, and altered level o…