Organic Basis of Confusional States in the Elderly

Abstract

Mental confusion is a relatively common feature of ill ness in old people. The consequent domestic upheaval and the ensuing medical, nursing, and social problems are well known. This review of the aetiological factors of confusion in 242 elderly confused patients is designed to call attention to the high incidence of organic disease both in the brain and elsewhere in the body. It will be shown that senile dementia is not necessarily synonymous with either cerebral arteriosclerosis or senility.