Question

A client has been admitted to the emergency department. the client's family tells the nurse that the client has suddenly become lethargic and is "not making sense." the client has not had anything to eat or drink for the last 8 hours. the nurse further assesses the client using the confusion assessment method (cam). the client's responses to questions are rambling, and the client is not able to focus clearly to answer the nurse's questions. based on these findings, the nurse should report that the client has:

Answer 1

The correct answer is delirium.
The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a psychiatric tool used to assess and identify delirium in patients. According to the first observations and the patient's responses to CAM, the nurse can conclude that the patient exhibits signs of delirium. This is because he is unable to concentrate and organize his thinking, he is inattentive, he is lethargic and all these behaviours are sudden and acute. These symptoms cannot be associated with dementia, as dementia develops gradually and doesn't affect attention and consciousness. Also, the symptoms don't point to depression since depressive patients are focused and attentive. Finally, the nurse cannot conclude that the patient is dehydrated because further tests need to be conducted to assess hydration.