Delirium May Be COVID Symptom For Elderly
A new study found that 28% of COVID-19 patients ages 65 and older at seven U.S. emergency departments had delirium. In some cases, it was their only symptom.
Stat:
Delirium Could Signal Covid-19 Infection In Older Adults, Study Finds
Delirium may be an early warning sign of Covid-19 infection in older adults, a new study has found. In some cases, it was the only symptom in patients who tested positive for the virus. More than one-fourth of older patients in the study arrived at hospital emergency rooms with delirium, and 37% of these patients had no typical Covid-19 signs, such as fever or shortness or breath. (Cooney, 11/19)
CIDRAP:
Delirium Fairly Common In Older COVID-19 Patients
A study published today in JAMA Network Open shows that 28% of older COVID-19 patients at seven US emergency departments (EDs) had delirium, putting them at higher risk of an intensive care unit (ICU) stay and death. A research team led by Massachusetts General Hospital scientists found that, of 817 COVID-19 patients 65 and older arriving at EDs, 226 (28%) had delirium, which was the sixth most common of all signs and symptoms. Delirium was a primary symptom in 37 (16%) of patients with delirium. Eighty-four patients with delirium (37%) had no typical COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever or shortness of breath. (Older adults are less likely than younger people to respond to infection with a fever.) (Van Beusekom, 11/19)
Also —
ABC News:
Number Of COVID-19 'Long Haulers,' Survivors Experiencing Lasting Virus Symptoms, Is Growing
New mothers often experience many sleepless, tired nights taking care of their newborns. But for Reyna Lopez, the past five months have been a brutal nightmare -- she was diagnosed with COVID-19 just two months since giving birth. "I had a fever. I had chills. I would get very dizzy and lightheaded when I would have any movement -- sitting down, standing up, just turning my head. I was getting nauseous. My body was hurting," said Reyna. (Schwartz-Lavares, Reshef, Pearle and Yamada, 11/18)
Nature:
What The Data Say About Asymptomatic COVID Infections
How many people don’t experience any symptoms after becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2? And what is their role in spreading COVID-19? These have been key questions since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, evidence suggests that about one in five infected people will experience no symptoms, and they will transmit the virus to significantly fewer people than someone with symptoms. But researchers are divided about whether asymptomatic infections are acting as a ‘silent driver’ of the pandemic. (Nogrady, 11/18)
Nature:
How To Shift Into COVID-19 Research
As a postdoctoral researcher in disease ecology at the University of Montpellier, France, Amandine Gamble spent the first two months of 2019 hunting down unsuspecting albatrosses on the Falkland Islands. Gamble was finishing some fieldwork on avian cholera, which required her to sneak up on the massive seabirds to take blood samples. A little more than a year later, the tables were turned: this time, Gamble was being pursued. (DePaul, 11/20)
