Symptoms Of Postoperative Cognitive Decline

The term dementia describes a set of symptoms which include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by numerous certain diseases. Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse. How fast dementia progresses will depend on the individual person and what type of dementia they have. Each person is unique and will experience dementia in their own way.

Prior to diagnosis the individual may show signs of forgetfulness due to an incline in memory functions. They may even show signs of a decline in reasoning and communication

c) Age-related cognitive impairment (or mild cognitive impairment MCI) – is when an elderly person’s memory starts to wane and they have problems recalling their short term memories, they have difficulty learning new things, their thinking process starts to become reduced and have difficulty concentrating. It is thought that MCI can develop due to alcohol abuse and cognitive decline (poor diet, chronic inflammation, vascular disease and

Delirium is a state where patient is confused and there is a rapid change in brain function that occur in physical or mental illness. It is temporary and when treated reverses the confusion.

This assignment is going to outline possible effects of dementia on an individual’s health and quality of life. There are many different factors that having dementia will effect. As stated above some will affect the health of the person and others will affect the quality of life that the person will have.

The definition of Dementia is “a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by physical changes in the brain.” (Common Types of Dementia, 2012). The first manifestations of Dementia

Medical and technological advances have led to greater survival rates in individuals suffering from various illness and injury throughout history. This includes individuals who suffer traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries. Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a brain injury each year with the survival rate of over 90 percent making brain injury the leading cause for disability in the United States. (Mysiw, Bogner, Corrigan, Fugate, Clinchot, & Kadyan 2006). Cognitive, physical, sensory and behavioral changes are widely noted in individuals in the months and years following a brain injury. However, the psychosocial, psychological and emotional effects of these injuries are less discussed and therefore these aspects can be overlooked when anticipating a course of treatment. Individuals who sustain acquired brain injuries experience significant, lasting impairment in the psychosocial, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives and better understanding of these issues can lead to better treatment and coping skills for these individuals.

He is alert, attentive, oriented x3. Normal attention and concentration. Normal fund of knowledge. No language errors noted during this exam. Memory testing reveals some problems with short-term memory and amnesia for the event. Patient also was noted to have difficulty following simple and multi-step commands with a slowed comprehension speed.

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a pervasive complication in elderly surgical patients that is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Depending on

Evidence of significant cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains — such as complex attention, executive function, learning, memory, language, perceptual-motor or social cognition.

In this paper, I will present my findings about the two testing (Cognitive Ability Test

Agitation is often managed with the use of medications or restraints. The implementation of these methods can cause both psychological and physiological problems. Medications given to a person with brain damage can lead to unpredictable responses. It has been found that specifically, Benzodiazepine medications, which often result in sedation or relaxation can cause agitation, insomnia or aggression in those patients with Dementia. The treatment then for these behaviors is usually more sedative drugs; thus continuing a vicious cycle of unresolved behavior. Other side effects common in sedatives are confusion, disorientation, and blurred vision; resulting in safety concerns for the individual. Improvement in communication and modification in

Pain is universal in everyone around the world and can come at any time and to anyone. There are ways to treat pain in the medical world but not everyone is treated the same when it comes to their pain and it might just be that they cannot express the pain that they feel to the people around them. This article goes into depth of how patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s don’t necessarily get the pain management to meet their needs and ways for medical professionals and the family members can understand that just because the patient cannot express the pain in a way that they understand it doesn’t mean that they are pain free. Dementia is defined in the article as ‘a group of syndromes characterized by progressive decline in cognition of sufficient severity to interfere with social and/or occupational functioning caused by disease or trauma, and often associated with increasing age.’ (Stephan and Brayne 2008) Whereas Alzheimer’s is as defined by the Mayo Clinic as ‘a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.’ (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015)

Authors of Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care, Ignatavicius and Workman, defines that brain damage can “happen at the time of injury and results from the physical force within the tissue caused by the blunt force” (2016). Brain injuries can be further determined as focal or diffuse and open or closed. Focal brain injury focuses on a specific

There were no studentized deleted residuals greater than ±3 standard deviations, no leverage values greater than 0.2, and values for Cook 's distance above 1. The assumption of normality was met, as assessed by Q-Q Plot. The multiple regression model statistically significantly predicted hallucination history, F(4, 175) = 89.89, p < .005, adj. R2 = 66.5%. All variables added statistically significantly to the prediction, p < .05. Regression coefficients and standard errors can be found in Table 2 (below).