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The Nature and Treatment of Delirium Tremens and Allied Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

R. W. Armstrong  and
Jonathan Gould
R. W. Armstrong
Affiliation:
Littlemore Hospital; University of Oxford
Jonathan Gould
Affiliation:
Broadmoor Institution; Department of Psychological Medicine, St. Bartholomew's Hospital
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Extract

Delirium tremens and toxi-infective delirium are not now common diseases, but are still encountered often enough for their treatment to present problems. Delirium tremens is a medical emergency and intercurrent pneumonia is a serious complication, more likely to occur if the patient's over-activity persists. Toxi-infective delirium is less frequently accompanied by crude over-activity, but this may be a source of significant added strain in the severely ill patient, in whom it is more likely to occur. The standard treatment for delirium tremens is by sedation, and the giving of fluids and glucose. Paraldehyde seems to be the drug of choice. Opinion is divided on whether it is advisable to continue to give moderate amounts of alcohol. Sedation is the standard treatment in toxi-infective delirium, and here barbiturates tend to be used.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Mental Science , Volume 101 , Issue 422 , January 1955 , pp. 70 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1955 

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