Delirium in the elderly: relationship of clinical symptoms to outcome

Twenty-eight elderly patients meeting the DSM-III-R criteria for delirium were evaluated using the Delirium Rating Scale (DRS) in order to examine the relation between the clinical symptoms of delirium and its outcome. Patients whose delirious episode improved within 1 week had a significantly lower DRS score at the time of psychiatric consultation than patients whose delirium lasted more than 1 week. Neither the difference between the mean ages nor the sex distribution in the two groups was statistically significant. The present study suggests that the DRS is a valuable instrument for predicting the clinical outcome of delirium.