Delirium in older inpatients with COVID-19: impact on service provision

Delirium is a common clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in older inpatients. We assessed the prevalence of delirium in inpatients aged over 65 years with confirmed COVID-19 infection to identify its clinical correlations and association with in-hospital mortality and admission duration. Data were extracted retrospectively from electronic health records. The prevalence of delirium was found to be 23.9% (158 out of 662 patients). Factors associated with delirium included older age, dementia (including cases of suspected dementia), frailty and concurrent infection. Delirium was not associated with higher mortality. Admission duration was approximately 1.5 times longer in patients who experienced delirium (median 14 days; interquartile range (IQR) 8-30) compared with those who did not (median 9 days; IQR 5-17; p<0.001). We confirmed that delirium is common in older inpatients with COVID-19 and has significant implications for patient care and planning services and rehabilitation.