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Mental confusion accompanied by a fever could be an early symptom of COVID-19.
London:
Delirium or mental confusion accompanied by fever could be an early symptom of COVID-19, particularly in elderly patients, according to a review of studies.
The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapy, suggests that along with the loss of the senses of taste and smell and the headaches that occur in the days leading up to the onset of coughing and breathing difficulties, some patients also develop delirium.
Therefore, the manifestation of this confusional state, when accompanied by high fever, should be considered an early marker of the disease, especially in the case of elderly patients.
“Delirium is a state of confusion in which the person feels disconnected from reality, as if he were dreaming,” explains Javier Correa of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) in Spain.
“We need to be vigilant, particularly in an epidemiological situation like this, because an individual with certain signs of confusion can be an indication of infection,” said Correa, who conducted this study at the University of Bordeaux in France.
Correa, together with the UOC researcher Diego Redolar Ripoll, reviewed the scientific papers published on the effects of COVID-19 in relation to the central nervous system, that is, the brain.
The review found that there is growing evidence that the new coronavirus also affects the central nervous system and produces neurocognitive disturbances, such as headaches and delirium, as well as psychotic episodes.
The main hypotheses that explain how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus affects the brain point to three possible causes: hypoxia or neuronal oxygen deficiency, inflammation of brain tissue due to cytokine storm and the fact that the virus has the ability to cross the blood. -Brain barrier to directly invade the brain, “said Correa.
He noted that any of these three factors has the potential to cause delirium.
Evidence of hypoxic brain damage has been observed in autopsies performed on patients who have died from the infection and the virus has been isolated from brain tissue, Correa said.
According to the researchers, delirium, cognitive deficits and behavioral abnormalities are more likely the result of systemic inflammation of the organ and a state of hypoxia, which also causes neuronal tissue to become inflamed and cause damage to areas such as the hippocampus .
This is associated with the cognitive dysfunctions and behavioral disturbances in delirium patients, they said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
