confusion

{{short description|State of being bewildered or unclear in one's mind about something}}

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{{Missing information|the causes of confusion that are not related to pharmacology|date=April 2025}}

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In psychology, confusion is the quality or emotional state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"[https://web.archive.org/web/20110603090426/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/confusion Confusion Definition] on Oxford Dictionaries. is often used interchangeably with delirium[http://www.symptomfind.com/symptoms/confusion/ Delirium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513084737/https://www.symptomfind.com/symptoms/confusion/ |date=13 May 2019 }}, Symptom Finder online. in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and the Medical Subject Headings publications to describe the pathology. These refer to the loss of orientation, or the ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location and personal identity. Mental confusion is sometimes accompanied by disordered consciousness (the loss of linear thinking) and memory loss (the inability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material).[http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/mental+confusion confusion] in TheFreeDictionary, citing: Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers; 2007; Saunders.

Etymology

The word confusion derives from the Latin word, confundo, which means "confuse, mix, blend, pour together, disorder, embroil."

Causes

Confusion may result from drug side effects or from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction. Acute confusion is often called delirium (or "acute confusional state"),[http://www.patient.info/doctor/Acute-Confusional-State.htm Acute Confusional State]; Dr. Gurvinder Rull; patient.info; Document ID/Version/Reference: 1714/22/bgp2104; updated: 13 Jan 2009; accessed: when?. although delirium often includes a much broader array of disorders than simple confusion. These disorders include the inability to focus attention; various impairments in awareness, and temporal or spatial dis-orientation. Mental confusion can result from chronic organic brain pathologies, such as dementia,{{Cite journal |last1=Ried |first1=S. |last2=Gutzmann |first2=H. |date=2003-08-01 |title=Das Pflegephänomen "Chronische Verwirrtheit" im Kontext der Diagnose "Demenz" |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00391-003-0129-6 |journal=Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=297–302 |doi=10.1007/s00391-003-0129-6 |pmid=12937935 |issn=0948-6704|url-access=subscription }} as well.

=Other=

Acute stress reaction
Alcoholism
Anemia
Anticholinergic toxicity{{cite journal| title=StatPearls | year= 2021 | volume= | issue= | pages= | pmid=30521219 | doi= | pmc= | url= | last1=Broderick | first1=E. D. | last2=Metheny | first2=H. | last3=Crosby | first3=B. | website = StatPearls}}
Anxiety
Brain damage
Brain tumor
Concussion
Dehydration
Encephalopathy
Epileptic seizure
Depression
Fatigue
Fever
Brain injury
Heat stroke
Hypoglycemia
Hypothermia
Hypothyroidism
Jet lag
Kidney failure
Kidney infection (pyelonephritis)
Lactic acidosis
Lassa fever
Lewy body dementia
Listeria
Lyme disease
Meningitis
Postpartum depression & Postpartum psychosis
Psychotic Disorder
Reye's syndrome
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
Schizophrenia
Sick building syndrome
Sleep apnea
Stroke
Yellow fever
STDs & STIs
Streptococcal Infections
Toxicity
Toxic shock syndrome
Transient ischemic attack (TIA, Mini-Stroke)
Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency
Acute Porphyria
West Nile virus{{cite web|url=https://www.medicinenet.com/confusion/symptoms.htm|title=Confusion: Symptoms, Signs, Causes & Treatment|work=MedicineNet|access-date=3 February 2016}}

=Differential diagnosis=

The most common causes of drug induced acute confusion are dopaminergic drugs (used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease), diuretics, tricyclic, tetracyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines or alcohol. The elderly, and especially those with pre-existing dementia, are most at risk for drug induced acute confusional states.{{Cite journal |last1=Hufschmidt |first1=A. |last2=Shabarin |first2=V. |last3=Zimmer |first3=T. |title=Drug-induced confusional states: the usual suspects? |journal=Acta Neurologica Scandinavica |volume=120 |issue=6 |pages=436–8 |date=Dec 2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01174.x |pmid=19804475|s2cid=24861855 |doi-access=free }} New research is finding a link between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment (which includes "foggy brain").{{Cite journal |url=https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/doc/1218731/file.pdf |title=Vitamin D Deficiency, Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis| doi=10.1159/000339702 | pmid=22759681 |volume=33 |year=2012 |journal= Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders|pages=297–305 | last1 = Etgen | first1 = T. | last2 = Sander | first2 = D. | last3 = Bickel | first3 = H. | last4 = Sander | first4 = K. | last5 = Förstl | first5 = H.|issue=5|s2cid=5303760}}