About one third of elderly patients in hospitals experience and inexplicable disorientation called “hospital delirium.”  Infections, surgery and medications can trigger the phenomenon and afterwards those patients are more likely to develop dementia, often requiring long term care.  Patients with dementia before entering the hospital are more likely to experience episodes of delirium-and in both instances, suffer other injuries (e.g. falls) while in care.  Delirium-prevention measures may soon become as common as fall-prevention procedures for hospitals, and the sooner the better.            MORE