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Delirium is an increasing concern with current combined annual costs for the United States and Europe of approximately $350 billion. Although standardized definitions and diagnostic criteria exist, more than 80% of delirium in the acute care setting is overlooked or misdiagnosed. Delays in identification result in increases in severity and mortality and a reduction in quality of life. Selecting an assessment tool is the first step toward improving recognition.Keywords: acute care, assessment, critical care, delirium, nursing, screening, Delirium has been described for more than 2500 years and by many different names. The etiology of delirium is multifactorial, with essentially any medical or surgical condition contributing to its [...]