THD NewsDesk: Covid-19 patients hospitalized to intensive care in the initial months of the pandemic encountered a new burden of delirium and coma than is usually found in those diagnosed with severe respiratory failure, the largest study of its kind.
The research, released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, monitored the occurrence of delirium and coma in over 2,000 Covid-19 patients accepted before April 28, 2020, to 69 adult intensive care units across 14 countries.
They stated that ICU delirium is associated with higher medical costs and a greater risk of death and long-term ICU-related dementia.
Nearly 82 percent of the study patients were comatose for a median of 10 days, and 55 percent were frenzied for a median of three days.
The scientists observed that severe brain dysfunction persisted for an estimated 12 days. Co-author Brenda Pun from VUMC stated that “This is double what is seen in non-Covid ICU patients.”
Nevertheless, they also highlighted that patient care impacts, some related to pressures posed on health care by the pandemic, also appear to have played a substantial role.
Concerning Covid-19, the scientists think there has been prevalent abandonment of newer medical strategies that help ward off the acute brain dysfunction that commonly impacts many medically ill patients.
Pun stated, “It is clear in our findings that many ICUs reverted to sedation practices that are not in line with best practice guidelines, and we’re left to speculate on the causes.”