Study Shows Delirium as a Possible Warning Sign of COVID-19 in Frail, Older Adults

A study in Age and Ageing indicated that delirium is a key symptom of COVID-19 in frail, older adults, reports News-Medical . The researchers analyzed data from two groups of people 65 or older from March through May. The first cohort included 322 subjects hospitalized with COVID-19 who had tested positive for the virus, while the second comprised 535 users of the COVID Symptom Study application who reported having had a positive diagnosis. Older hospitalized adults classified as frail were more likely to have had delirium as one of their symptoms than people of the same age who were not classified as frail. Delirium, along with tiredness and breathlessness, also were more frequent in frailer users of the COVID Symptom Study app with the virus, compared with fitter people of the same age. A third of app users with delirium did not report suffering "classic" COVID-19 symptoms of cough and fever, while delirium was the only symptom for 18.9 percent of hospitalized patients. "Older, frailer people are at greater risk from COVID-19 than those who are fitter, and our results show that delirium is a key symptom in this group," said King's College London's Rose Penfold. "Doctors and carers should watch out for any changes in mental state in seniors, such as confusion or strange behavior, and be alert to the fact that this could be an early sign of coronavirus infection."