does the diagnosis according to the DSM-IV differ from the previous classifications?
GROUND: Different diagnostic criteria differ in their capacity to identify subjects as delirious. It is not known how DSM-IV classification, compared with the DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and ICD-10, identifies delirium among individuals with and without dementia and whether the symptom profiles differ between these two subgroups. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed on patients (age > or = 70 years) in seven acute geriatric wards (n = 230) and in seven nursing-homes (n = 195) in Helsinki, Finland. Delirium was diagnosed according to the operationalized criteria according to the DSM-III, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and clinical criteria of ICD-10. Dementia was defined according to consensus judgment among three geriatricians with concise information including: prior dementia diagnoses, Clinical Dementia Rating Scale, operationalized criteria according to the DSM-IV, nurses and/or caregivers interviews, and the results of the brain CT/MRI and prior Mini-Mental State Examination scores, when ava
