Elderly patients may develop strokes associated with high blood pressure. Small strokes may result in cognitive dysfunction, confusion, memory lapses and onset of dementia.
less frequently and less understood is delirium that may occur secondary to a drug reaction, or sleep deprivation in the hospital. Delirium is usually viewed as an acute state of confusion with hallucinations that usually resolves by stopping the causative medication or sending the patient into a less stressful rehabilitative environment.
During delirium, Can inflammation occur in the brain in susceptible patients resulting in significant brain damage that might resemble a stroke.
Is the MRI pattern of a stroke or delirium the same or uniquely different?
No. The pathophysiology of stroke is different from that of delirium. Delirium does not have specific imaging findings.
Delirium is a form of clinical manifestation of stroke (amongst very many other aetiologies). Delirium either remits or turns into chronicity. Therefore, may be harmful in indirect ways.