Delirium is a common complication of severe illness of any cause, and has been associated with long term memory problems, representing an important risk factor for dementia. Whilst the underlying cause of delirium is not known, inflammation in the brain is thought to be an important factor. Inflammation in the brain can occur in response to inflammation elsewhere in the body, which can be easily measured using blood tests. We have previously shown that high levels of inflammation in the blood is associated with delirium and brain injury in patients with COVID-19. We believe that this finding is likely to be the same across all severe illness, and that treating inflammation is a possible route to preventing delirium and its long term consequences. In this project, we aim to explore whether we can replicate our previous findings in the COVID-CNS data, firstly in patients with COVID, but then also in the control patients who did not have COVID.
