An elderly patient was admitted with pneumonia and a fever of 104.5° F. At the time of admission he was confused, disoriented, restless, and tried to slap the nurse who started an intravenous line. His daughter stated, "Just yesterday he was perfectly fine, except for a cold. I can't believe he is acting this way now." Within a few days, his erratic behavior subsided and his daughter was relieved that he was "back to normal." The nurse recognizes that this patient was exhibiting signs of which disorder?

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Delirium is characterized by a disturbance of consciousness and a change in cognition that develops rapidly over a short period of time. Dementia is a syndrome of acquired, progressive, intellectual impairment that compromises function, such as memory, language, visual-spatial skills, emotion, personality, and cognition. A panic attack is characterized by complete disruption of the perceptual field. The person experiences intense terror and is unable to think logically or make decisions. The person experiences muscle tension, tachycardia, dyspnea, hypertension, increased respiration, and profuse perspiration. Early manifestations of alcohol withdrawal include hand tremors, sweating, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, and agitation.

An Elderly Patient Was Admitted with Pneumonia and a Fever