Editing Delirium (section)

===Differential diagnosis===
There are conditions that might have similar clinical presentations to those seen in delirium. These include dementia,<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Wong N, Abraham G |url=https://www.ebmedicine.net/topics/psychiatric-behavioral/delirium-agitation|title=Treating Delirium & Agitation in the Emergency Room, 2015 | work = EB Medicine |access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=2019-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223105314/https://www.ebmedicine.net/topics/psychiatric-behavioral/delirium-agitation|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Soiza_2019" /><ref name="Oh_2017" /><ref name = "Sugalski_2019" /><ref name="Grover_2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Grover S, Avasthi A | title = Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Delirium in Elderly | journal = Indian Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 60 | issue = Suppl 3 | pages = S329–S340 | date = February 2018 | pmid = 29535468 | pmc = 5840908 | doi = 10.4103/0019-5545.224473 | doi-access = free }}</ref> depression,<ref name="Grover_2018" /><ref name="Oh_2017" /> psychosis,<ref name=pseudodelirium /><ref name="Grover_2018" /><ref name="Oh_2017" /> [[catatonia]],<ref name=pseudodelirium /> and other conditions that affect cognitive function.<ref name = "Sugalski_2019">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sugalski G, Ullo M, Winograd SM | title = Making Sense of Delirium in the Emergency Department. | journal = Emergency Medicine Reports | date = February 2019 | volume = 40 | issue = 3 | id = {{ProQuest|2175238208}} }}</ref>
* '''Dementia''': This group of disorders is acquired (non-congenital) with usually irreversible cognitive and psychosocial functional decline. [[Dementia]] usually results from an identifiable degenerative brain disease (e.g., [[Alzheimer disease]] or [[Huntington's disease]]), requires chronic impairment (versus acute onset in delirium), and is typically not associated with changes in level of consciousness.<ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Mendez MF, Cummings JL |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzM4v_OruZ8C&pg=PR11 |title=Dementia: A Clinical Approach |date=2003 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-7506-7470-6 |language=en |access-date=2022-05-17 |archive-date=2023-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230124122/https://books.google.com/books?id=LzM4v_OruZ8C&pg=PR11#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Dementia is different from delirium in that dementia lasts long-term while delirium lasts short-term.
* '''Depression''': Similar symptoms exist between [[clinical depression|depression]] and delirium (especially the hypoactive subtype). Gathering a history from other caregivers can clarify baseline mentation.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = O'Sullivan R, Inouye SK, Meagher D | title = Delirium and depression: inter-relationship and clinical overlap in elderly people | journal = The Lancet. Psychiatry | volume = 1 | issue = 4 | pages = 303–311 | date = September 2014 | pmid = 26360863 | pmc = 5338740 | doi = 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70281-0 }}</ref>
* '''Psychosis''': In general, people with ''primary'' psychosis have intact cognitive function; however, primary psychosis can mimic delirium when it presents with disorganized thoughts and mood dysregulation. This is particularly true in the condition known as delirious mania.<ref name=pseudodelirium />
* '''Other mental illnesses''': Some mental illnesses, such as a manic episode of bipolar disorder, [[Depersonalization-derealization disorder|depersonalization disorder]], or other dissociative conditions, can present with features similar to that of delirium.<ref name=pseudodelirium /> Such condition, however, would not qualify for a diagnosis of delirium per DSM-5-TR criterion D (i.e., fluctuating cognitive symptoms occurring as part of a ''primary'' ''mental'' disorder are results of the said mental disorder itself), while ''physical'' disorders (e.g., infections, hypoxia, etc.) can precipitate delirium as a mental side-effect/symptom.<ref name=DSM-5-TR />