Risk Factors for Delirium in the Acute Stroke

1.1 Stroke According to the World Health Organization (WHO), stroke is defined as the sudden development of focal or global symptoms and signs of disturbance of cerebral function lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death, as a result of the pathological processes of vascular origin (Thorvaldsen et al., 1995). The basic classification of stroke, according to the type of pathological process, is into ischemic stroke, which comprises 70-85%, and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke develops due to the inability of supply to brain tissue oxygen and glucose due to occlusion vessel. If the "outbursts" of blood within the brain mass, there is intracerebral hemorrhage, which makes 15-20% of strokes, while the penetration of the blood in the subarachnoid space, usually as a result of aneurysm rupture, leading to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which makes 5-10% of all strokes. Stroke leads to focal or multifocal neuropsychological disorders. Given that in clinical stroke in the forefront of motor deficits, disturbance of consciousness and disturbance of speech functions, a very common disorder and the function of other organ systems, most of the neuropsychological symptoms are observed after the acute phase when the general and neurological status stabilized, or when we are able to perform certain neuropsychological tests (Dostovic, 2007). Stroke leads to the different degree of physical, cognitive and psychosocial dysfunctioning. The recovery of patients depends on the severity of disability, the rehabilitation program, but also the subsequent maintenance of achieved function, as well as care and support of family and environment.