Diagnosis information

Delirium

Core diagnostic criteria, specifiers, differential considerations, and documentation support in one open, scan-friendly view.

F05Neurocognitive & DeliriumLocal clinical reference

Criteria: 5 criteria, A–E
Specifiers: 10 specifiers
Differentials: 5 considerations
Severity specifier: Not listed

Core diagnostic criteria

All criteria are shown. No expand controls or hidden sections.

A
Core criterion A
Disturbance of attention (reduced ability to direct, focus, sustain, shift attention) and awareness (reduced orientation to environment)
B
Core criterion B
Develops over short period; represents change from baseline; tends to fluctuate during the day
C
Core criterion C
Additional disturbance in cognition (memory deficit, disorientation, language, visuospatial ability, or perception)
D
Core criterion D
Criteria A and C not better explained by established pre-existing NCD; not in context of severely reduced arousal (coma)
E
Core criterion E
Evidence from history/examination/labs that disturbance is physiological consequence of medical condition, substance intoxication/withdrawal, toxin, or multiple causes

Specifiers

Hyperactive: Prominent psychomotor agitation, restlessness, and increased arousal.
Hypoactive: Reduced psychomotor activity, lethargy, and decreased alertness - often missed; worse prognosis.
Mixed level of activity: Alternating hyperactive and hypoactive features.
Acute: Duration of hours to days.
Persistent: Duration of weeks to months.
Substance intoxication delirium: Directly attributable to recent substance use.
Substance withdrawal delirium: Occurring during withdrawal from a substance.
Medication-induced delirium: Temporally related to medication exposure.
Delirium due to another medical condition: Directly attributable to a general medical illness.
Delirium due to multiple aetiologies: More than one contributing cause identified.

Documentation support

Consistent with [Delirium] [specifier(s)]. Over a short period of time with an acute or subacute onset and a fluctuating course, there has been a disturbance in attention; reduced ability to direct, focus, sustain, or shift attention; a disturbance in awareness with reduced orientation to the environment, accompanied by memory impairment; disorientation; language disturbance; visuospatial impairment; perceptual disturbance, forming a global disturbance in cognition that represents a change from baseline. The presentation is further characterised by symptoms that fluctuate in severity over the course of the day and evidence from history, examination, or investigations that the disturbance is a direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, substance intoxication or withdrawal, medication exposure, toxin exposure, or multiple aetiologies. These features have resulted in clinically significant impairment in cognitive, occupational, or functional capacity, and the disturbance does not occur exclusively in the context of a severely reduced level of arousal such as coma.

Adapt this supplied template to the assessment. It is not a substitute for diagnostic reasoning or local documentation requirements.

DSM-5 DiagnosisDSM-ncg-deliriumSupplied local catalogue