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Covid researchers have revealed the often devastating consequences patients faced during and after hospitalization. In a new study of nearly 150 patients hospitalized for Covid at the start of the pandemic, 73% were found to have delirium – a severe disturbance in mental status that can make a patient confused, agitated and unable to think clearly.
Patients with delirium tended to be sicker, with more problems like high blood pressure and diabetes, said study author Phillip Vlisides of the Michigan Medicine Department of Anesthesiology.
They also appeared to have more serious Covid-related illness.
“COVID is also associated with a number of other adverse outcomes which tend to prolong hospitalization and make recovery difficult,” he added.
Using patient medical records and post-discharge telephone surveys for a group of patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit between March and May 2020, the study researchers sought to identify points common among patients who have developed delirium.
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Several factors are at play, Vlisides said.
Delirium can lead to reduced oxygen in the brain, as well as the development of blood clots and stroke, leading to cognitive impairment.
Inflammatory markers were significantly increased in patients with delirium.
Confusion and agitation could be the result of inflammation of the brain.
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In addition, healthcare teams were often unable to apply standard delirium reduction techniques, such as exercises designed to move a patient or allow visitors or household objects to direct patients in the hospital. .
Vlisides said: “At the start of the pandemic, we weren’t doing standard delirium prevention protocols like we usually do.
“A big reason for this is at the start of the pandemic in the pre-vaccine era, we had limited personal protective equipment and were trying to limit Covid exposure and disease transmission. “
The study found that cognitive impairment can persist even after discharge.
Almost a third of patients had not marked their delirium as resolved in their chart upon discharge, and 40 percent of these patients required skilled nursing care.
Almost a quarter of patients tested positive for delirium based on their caregiver’s assessment.
For some patients, these symptoms lasted for months.
“Overall, this study highlights another reason why getting vaccinated and preventing serious illness is so important,” Vlisides concluded.
“There may be long-term neurological complications that we maybe don’t talk about as much as we should. “
Delirium is also described as sudden confusion. The NHS says that if a person is confused they can:
- not being able to think or speak clearly or quickly
- not knowing where they are (feeling disoriented)
- struggle to pay attention or remember things
- seeing or hearing things that are not there (hallucinations)
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