Study of the Sensitivity of the Organic Psychosyndrome After One Year of the Disease

Abstract

Introduction

The delirium of the elderly is defined as an acute confusional state, with variation during the day, characterized by impaired consciousness, orientation, memory, thinking, attention and behavior.

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether the organic psychosyndrome of the elderly is a valid indicator of mortality after one year.

Material

It was used material from patients with organic psychosyndrome older than 60 years, who were hospitalized in pathological clinics of the Hospital of Corfu and was diagnosed by the linker portion of the psychiatric clinic.

Methodology

The patients diagnosed with organic psychosyndrome neither suffered from a psychiatric disorder psychotic type in the past, nor previously preceded anaesthesia in the context of physical disease. For the recognition and the criteria of ICD-10 to the exclusion of another psychiatric condition, it was used the delirium rating scale method.

Results

According to the analysis of the data, 8% of patients died during hospitalisation, in the first 3 months after diagnosis, the 28% of the initially hospitalised patients, in 6 months the 42%, while during the year the 48% of the initial total patients died and in the next 12 months only one death was reported.

Conclusions

The analysis of the survey results shows that while the instrument psychosyndrome could be considered as a poor diagnostic marker for the first 12 months, 48% mortality, in the long run it seems to lose its prognostic value with the mortality approaching the mortality index of the hellenic statistical authority for 2015 at ages 60+ (1.2%).

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.