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Altered Mental Status

Altered Mental Status

Now that Trump is recovering from his coronavirus infection, we need to be aware of possible neurological issues. I mean more than typical with him. Research shows that many Covid survivors struggle with mental acuity. In fact, studies show that one-third of Covid survivors suffer from altered mental function. Problems range from significant confusion to outright delirium to unresponsiveness.

The medical term for patients with altered mental function is encephalopathy. Encephalopathy is a generic term. All it means is that something’s wrong with the brain. The something can include problems with attention, concentration, loss of memory, disorientation, or a coma-like level of consciousness.

“Encephalopathy was associated with the worst clinical outcomes in terms of ability to take care of their own affairs after leaving the hospital, and we also see it’s associated with higher mortality, independent of severity of their respiratory disease,” one doctor said.
The Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology published the study.  The study reported consistent neurological symptoms among coronavirus patients. Especially elderly obese people like Trump.

Risk Factors

The researchers did not identify a cause for the encephalopathy especially in older patients with obesity and high blood pressure. Most experts say neurological effects are probably triggered by inflammatory and immune system responses that often affect other organs, as well as the brain.
In the study, the 162 patients with encephalopathy were more likely to be older and male. Some experts warn that Trump is of the age and gender of the patients in the study who were more likely to develop altered mental function. He also has a history of high cholesterol, one of the pre-existing conditions that appear to increase risk.

“This is an important study, since the neurological complications of the infection seem to be frequent and in many cases long lasting, but yet have not received much attention,” said Dr. Avindra Nath, chief of the section on infections of the nervous system at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who was not involved in the study.