Editing Delirium (section)

===Dementia in ICU survivors===
{{see also|Post-intensive care syndrome}}
Between 50% and 70% of people admitted to the ICU have permanent problems with brain dysfunction similar to those experienced by people with Alzheimer's or those with a traumatic brain injury, leaving many ICU survivors permanently disabled.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hopkins RO, Jackson JC | title = Long-term neurocognitive function after critical illness | journal = Chest | volume = 130 | issue = 3 | pages = 869–878 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16963688 | doi = 10.1378/chest.130.3.869 | s2cid = 8118025 }}</ref> This is a distressing personal and public health problem and continues to receive increasing attention in ongoing investigations.<ref name="Harris_2018">{{Cite web | vauthors = Harris R |date=October 10, 2018 |title=When ICU Delirium Leads To Symptoms Of Dementia After Discharge |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/10/654445929/when-icu-delirium-leads-to-symptoms-of-dementia-after-discharge |access-date=January 24, 2024 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name="Challenges of Delirium Management i"/>

The implications of such an "acquired dementia-like illness" can profoundly debilitate a person's livelihood level, often dismantling his/her life in practical ways like impairing one's ability to find a car in a parking lot, complete shopping lists, or perform job-related tasks done previously for years.<ref name="Harris_2018" /> The societal implications can be enormous when considering work-force issues related to the inability of wage-earners to work due to their own ICU stay or that of someone else they must care for.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/10/654445929/when-icu-delirium-leads-to-symptoms-of-dementia-after-discharge |title=When ICU Delirium Leads To Symptoms Of Dementia After Discharge | vauthors = Harris R |publisher=National Public Radio |date=October 10, 2018 |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=4 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504063245/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/10/10/654445929/when-icu-delirium-leads-to-symptoms-of-dementia-after-discharge |url-status=live }}</ref>