Short-Confusion Assessment Method

1) Acute Onset and Fluctuating Course

a) Is there evidence of an acute change in mental status from the patient’s baseline?

b) Did the behaviour fluctuate during the day?

2) Inattention

Did the patient have difficulty focusing attention, for eg. being easily distractible or having difficulty keeping track of what was being said?

3) Disorganized thinking

Was the patient’s thinking disorganized or incoherent, such as rambling or irrelevant conversation, unclear or illogical flow of ideas, or unpredictable switching from subject to subject?

4) Altered level of consciousness

If inattention and at least one item in (1) are YES, and at least one item in (2) are YES, a diagnosis of delirium is suggested.

Reference:

Inouye SK, van Dyck CH, Alessi CA, Balkin S, Siegal AP, Horwitz RI. Clarifying confusion: the confusion assessment method. A new method for detection of delirium. Ann Intern Med. 1990;113(12):941-948. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-113-12-941