The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) was originally developed in 1988 to improve the identification and recognition of delirium. The CAM was intended to provide a new standardized method to enable non-psychiatrically trained clinicians to identify delirium quickly and accurately in both clinical and research settings. Since its development, the CAM has become the most widely used delirium detection instrument world-wide, due to its strong validation results as well as its ease of use.
The CAM instrument has been used in over 5,000 original articles to date, as either a process or outcome measure, and has been translated into over 14 languages.
Dr. Sharon Inouye and colleagues have developed a series of CAM-related instruments for the recognition and diagnosis of delirium. The instruments and their training manuals are available for free after a brief one-time registration.
Reference: Inouye SK, VanDyck CH, Alessi CA et al. Clarifying confusion: The Confusion Assessment Method. A new method for detecting delirium. Ann Intern Med. 1990; 113:941-8.
Reference: Inouye SK, VanDyck CH, Alessi CA et al. Clarifying confusion: The Confusion Assessment Method. A new method for detecting delirium. Ann Intern Med. 1990; 113:941-8.
Reference: Inouye SK, Kosar CM, Tommet D, Schmitt EM, Puelle MR, Saczynski JS, Marcantonio ER, Jones RN. The CAM-S: Development and Validation of a New Scoring System for Delirium Severity in 2 Cohorts. Ann Intern Med. 2014; 160:526-533
Reference: Steis MR, Evans L, Hirschman KB, Hanlon A, Fick DM, Flanagan N, Inouye SK. Screening for Delirium via Family Caregivers: Convergent Validity of the Family Confusion Assessment Method (FAM-CAM) and Interviewer-Rated CAM. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012; 60:2121-26. PMC3498543
Reference: *Marcantonio ER, Ngo L, O’Connor MA, Jones RN, Crane PK, Metzger ED, Inouye SK. 3DCAM: Validation of a 3-Minute Diagnostic Interview for CAM-defined Delirium. Ann Int Med. 2014; 161(8):554-561.
Reference: Inouye SK, Leo-Summers L, Zhang Y, Bogardus ST, Leslie DL, Agostini JV. A chart-based method for identification of delirium: validation compared with interviewer ratings using the Confusion Assessment Method. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005:53:312-318
Reference: Saczynski JS, Kosar CM, Xu G, Puelle MR, Schmitt E, Jones RN, Marcantonio ER, Wong B, Isaza I, Inouye SK. A Tale of Two Methods: Chart and Interview Methods for Identifying Delirium. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014; 62:518-524. PMC3959564
Reference: Racine AM, D’Aquila M, Schmitt EM, Gallagher J, Marcantonio ER, Jones RN, Inouye SK,* Schulman-Green D.* Delirium burden in patients and family caregivers: development and testing of new instruments. Gerontologist. 2018. Epub ahead of print.