with the spread of the pandemic specialists notice new facets of coronavirus disease. American doctors warn that the virus can cause patients long-term brain damage
Scientists have warned about some of the symptoms that can indicate that the virus affects the brain, tells the Mirror magazine. These symptoms include confusion, headaches, and in some cases even delirium.
Dr. Halim Fadil, specialist in neurology from Arlington memorial hospital (Texas), talks on specialized medical topics portal Healthline: “many patients with COVID-19 manifest such neurological symptoms as headaches, confusion, seizures, and even cerebrovascular accident.”
Delusional disorder usually strikes patients requiring support of mechanical ventilation, and is called it is because of the buildup of carbon dioxide.
Another specialist in neurology from Arlington, Dr. Kevin Conner, explains: “patients with feverish delirium may occur auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, disorientation in time and space, agitation, aggression, fluctuating levels of consciousness, as well as disruption of sleep cycles and wakefulness.”
Such patients may also experience problems with memory and speech, which sometimes becomes incoherent.
According to Dr. Conner, or that the level of disorder of consciousness can experience, the majority (80%) patients of intensive care units.
the worrying fact that delirium may cause long-term damage to the brain, and those patients who experience this condition, according to experts, are less likely to survive.
Professor of medicine Harvard medical school Dr. Sharon Inouye warns: “We are seeing a wave of disorders of consciousness in patients with COVID-19 worldwide, and this wave more and more difficult to control.”
meanwhile, the research showed that help to minimize the disorder of consciousness can walk. However, this simple tool is not so easy to take when patients are on the ventilator.
As explained by Dr. Kevin Conner, walking increases the saturation of the body with oxygen, which allows you to quickly remove patients from a ventilator. In turn, this gives the ability to release the ventilator to other patients.
But in order to help the patient with walking, requires the presence of three members of the medical staff. However, doctors are convinced, “this can be achieved”.
