Severe COVID-19 Can Lead To Delirium, US Study Finds
NDTV
COVID-19 Study: The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, found that patients with delirium tended to be sicker, with more comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes, and appeared to have more severe COVID-related illness.
A study of 150 patients hospitalised for COVID in the US at the beginning of the pandemic found that 73 per cent had delirium, a serious disturbance in mental state wherein a person is confused, agitated and unable to think clearly.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, found that patients with delirium tended to be sicker, with more comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes, and appeared to have more severe COVID-related illness.
"COVID is also associated with a number of other adverse outcomes that tend to prolong hospitalisation and make recovery difficult," said study author Phillip Vlisides, from the University of Michigan in the US.
The researchers used patient medical records and telephone surveys following hospital discharge for a group of patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit between March and May 2020. They attempted to identify common threads amongst patients who developed delirium.
