Final answer:
Clinical findings of delirium include cognitive impairment, alterations in consciousness and attention, memory loss, irritability, irregular sleep-wake cycles, and changes in psychomotor behavior. There may also be language, visuospatial ability, and perception disturbances. Neuroleptic drugs can affect these symptoms but may also lead to coordination issues at higher doses.
Step-by-step explanation:
Delirium is marked by an acute and fluctuating course of cognitive impairment and disturbance in consciousness. Common clinical findings in patients suffering from delirium include severe disruptions in memory, with specific difficulty remembering recent events (memory lapses or loss), confusion about the time or place, and significantly impaired ability to focus, sustain or shift attention. Patients may also exhibit irritability, disorganized thinking, and altered level of consciousness, ranging from hyper-alertness to drowsiness or lethargy. There is often difficulty with planning and executing tasks, a display of poor judgment, and personality changes. Some patients may experience severe yawning, hallucinations, or exhibit symptoms that seem similar to ADHD like hyperactivity or inattentiveness.
Patients under neuroleptic drugs may show reduced initiative, slowed response to stimuli, and diminished display of emotion. Even though these drugs can diminish aggressive and impulsive behavior and psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, high doses might lead to ataxia, incoordination, or dysarthria. Other symptoms of delirium that can be observed are muscle weakness, shifted balance and posture, muscle rigidity, changes in speech, and potentially seizures or stiff neck in more severe cases. It is also important to understand the difference between signs, which are observable by others, and symptoms, which are subjective experiences of the patient such as pain or nausea.