Differential effects of delirium on fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities.

Patients with delirium (acute confusional state) show extensive cognitive deficits. These deficits have typically been measured using tests of fluid cognition, which involve the active processing of mental representations. However, the effects of delirium on stored, crystallized dimensions of cognition, such as well-learnt word pronunciation knowledge, are not known.

The pathophysiology of medication errors: how and where they arise.

1. Errors arise when an action is intended but not performed; errors that arise from poor planning or inadequate knowledge are characterized as mistakes; those that arise from imperfect execution of well-formulated plans are called slips when an erroneous act is committed and lapses when a correct act is omitted. 2.