Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders > Introduction > Delirium > 293.0 Delirium Due to a General Medical Condition Topics Discussed: delirium due to a general medical condition. Excerpt: "The descriptive features of Delirium Due to a General Medical Condition (Criteria A–C) are discussed in Diagnostic Features. In addition, to diagnose Delirium Due to a General Medical Condition, there must be evidence from the history, physical examination, or laboratory findings that the cognitive disturbance is the direct physiological consequence of a general medical condition (Criterion D). In determining whether the delirium is due to a general medical condition, the clinician must first establish the presence of a general medical condition. Further, the clinician must establish that the delirium is etiologically related to the general medical condition. A careful and comprehensive assessment of multiple factors is necessary to make this judgment. Although there are no infallible guidelines, several considerations provide some guidance in this area. One consideration is the presence of a temporal association between the onset, exacerbation, or remission of the general medical condition and that of the delirium. Evidence from the literature that suggests that there can be a direct association between the general medical condition in question and the development of a delirium can provide a useful context in the assessment of a particular situation. In addition, the clinician must also judge that the disturbance is not better accounted for by a Substance-Induced Delirium or a primary mental disorder (e.g., a Manic Episode). This determination is explained in greater detail in the "Mental Disorders Due to a General Medical Condition" section (Mental Disorders Due to a General Medical Condition)...." DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349.8418 The content above is only an excerpt. For full access subscribe now or log into your account below. You can also purchase 24- or 48-hour access; learn more Username: Password:   FORGOT your subscriber username and/or password? Get a reminder via email: The email I registered with is:  Not a subscriber? Subscribe Today PsychiatryOnline is a powerful website that features DSM-IV-TR® and The American Journal of Psychiatry as the cornerstones of an unsurpassed collection of psychiatric references, including books, journals, and self-assessment tools. PsychiatryOnline’s innovative platform makes these resources easy and convenient to use, offering Precise and powerful searching across books and journals. Quick pathways to related material. Mobile access from any computer with a Web connection. Ability to download any book section to PDA. Links from bibliographic references to the full text of journal articles. References to material not located in the PsychiatryOnline collection lead you to PubMed. Learn more about PsychiatryOnline Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).