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Coronavirus

Confusion could be sign of Covid in Over 65s

(6 Posts)
FarNorth Mon 10-Oct-22 08:06:03

"Doctors and carers should watch out for any changes in mental state in elderly people, such as confusion or strange behaviour, and be alert to the fact that this could be an early sign of coronavirus infection.”

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/delirium-a-key-sign-of-covid-19-in-frail-older-people?fbclid=IwAR0N-pOIeoSgTftIupbafuuiRzyeAZNYpXVCRJZfIQZEU58yxs8CV238rNs

volver Mon 10-Oct-22 08:09:31

The article is two years old.

FarNorth Mon 10-Oct-22 08:17:28

I didn't notice that as it was recently posted in a group I'm in.
It may well still be relevant as there is very little testing being done and new or increased confusion often is a sign of an illness in older, frail people.

LtEve Mon 10-Oct-22 08:18:58

New onset of acute confusion can be a sign of an infection in any adult, it is not specific to Covid. It forms part of the NEW2 scoring system used in primary care and in hospital to help identify acutely ill patients.

MawtheMerrier Mon 10-Oct-22 08:30:45

Confusion in the elderly (that is older than us!) is frequently connected with a urinary infection. My father rang me one afternoon some years ago to say he thought Mum had dementia as she was hallucinating and seeing shadows of phantom gunmen on the wall. I told him to call the GP who had barely poked his head round the door before diagnosing a UTI - a course of a/b’s brought her back to normal in no time.
DH also showed signs of extreme confusion in his last few months on more than one occasion, terrifying to see, but each time a UTI.

Joseanne Mon 10-Oct-22 09:33:44

Not being flippant, but confusion or strange behaviour must come with covid at whatever age. I've tested positive since Friday and have had a fuzzy weekend forgetting what I'm doing and saying daft stuff, and I'm not yet 65.
I guess as FarNorth says, with less testing going on we need to still consider covid as the culprit when older people get confused, if nothing else to rule it out.