There are six (6) units of study, which define the POM specialty knowledge and skills. Each unit has been subdivided into a series of key themes and modules comprised of recommended guidelines, readings, texts and videos.
U5M2: Management of postoperative delirium and fevers
Discusses the assessment and management of post-operative delirium and/or fever.
Websites
Other resources
Recommended texts
Delirium Clinical Care Standard by
The goal of this standard is to improve the prevention of delirium in patients at risk and the early diagnosis and treatment of patients with delirium, so that the incidence, severity and duration of delirium are reduced.
Dementia in Australia: Summary Report 2022 by
Dementia is a leading cause of death and burden of disease in Australia. It is estimated that 401,300 Australians were living with dementia in 2022 and, with Australia’s ageing population, this number is expected to rise to more than 849,300 by 2058. Although dementia can affect people aged under 65, it primarily affects older Australians.
This summary report presents some of the key findings and concepts from the Dementia in Australia online compendium, which is available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/dementia/dementia-in-aus/
Additional findings, interactive data and information about dementia, support services and aged care programs can be found in the online report. Important information about data sources and methodologies to derive statistics are also explained in the online report.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5e Text Revision: DSM-5-TR by
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5e, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), is the most comprehensive, current, and critical resource for clinical practice available to today's mental health clinicians and researchers. DSM-5-TR includes the fully revised text and references, updated diagnostic criteria and ICD-10-CM codes since DSM-5 was published in 2013. It features a new disorder, Prolonged Grief Disorder, as well as codes for suicidal behaviour available to all clinicians of any discipline without the requirement of any other diagnosis.
Additional resources
The following are additional resources that participants may find useful to their studies:
Differentiating Delirium Versus Dementia in the Elderly [StatPearls] by
Excerpt
Altered mental status is one of the most common presenting symptoms in elderly patients often related to 3 Ds- delirium, dementia, and depression. Out of the 3 Ds, Delirium and dementia are more commonly encountered in clinical practice. Most of the time, the two terms are used interchangeably and therefore unrecognized on the initial assessment. It is critically important to understand that delirium and dementia are distinct syndromes with different prognoses and management. While an acute confusional state that fluctuates and develops over days to weeks is likely to be delirium, a more persistent and chronic progression suggests dementia. This distinction is blurred in cases of persistent delirium and reversible dementia. Cognition is assessed in six domains: memory and learning, language, executive functioning, complex attention, perceptual-motor, and social cognition.
Delirium is characterized by altered awareness mainly affecting attention, whereas dementia is defined as cognitive decline, which interferes with 1 or more domains. Delirium is an abrupt onset of reduced orientation or awareness to the environment in contrast to dementia which is a gradual process leading to disturbance in the core features, and attention is affected much later in the disease course.
Typically, dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder seen in older age and is of various subtypes with the age of onset depending on the subtype. On the other hand, delirium is an age-independent process that occurs more commonly in elderly patients and can happen under variable circumstances. Delirium typically occurs from hours to days, versus dementia is a slow progressive course over months to years. Often the two coexists in the elderly, and sometimes when the dementia is rapidly progressive. It can be difficult to differentiate the two in patients without a prior history of dementia. Therefore, it becomes essential to distinguish between the two or to discern if superadded delirium in a pre-existing dementia patient (delirium superimposed dementia or DSD) leads to a prolonged hospital stay and accelerated cognitive and functional decline, increased healthcare costs, and ultimately death.
Postoperative Fever [StatPearls] by
Excerpt
Postoperative fever is defined as a temperature higher than 38 C (or greater than 100.4 F) on two consecutive postoperative days or higher than 39 C (or greater than 102.2 F) on any postoperative day. Knowledge of differential diagnosis, as well as a systematic approach, proves useful in narrowing down the differential diagnosis and instituting proper management.
Fever, as a manifestation of sepsis, should be promptly identified and managed appropriately to lower mortality rates in such cases.
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