The CBS Evening News reported that, according to a study published Oct. 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine, “patients who are treated in intensive care units often leave with dementia, even when there is no evidence of it prior to their treatment.”
The Los Angeles Times (10/3, Healy) reports that the study revealed that almost two-thirds of ICU patients “come away from the experience with substantial mental deficits,” and that “three months after leaving the hospital, four in 10 patients continue to have cognitive problems on a par with those seen in cases of moderate traumatic brain injury. “ Approximately a quarter of ICU patients “experience a decline in mental function akin to that seen in patients with mild Alzheimer’s,” the study found.
Related Links:
— “After an ICU stay, cognitive loss is common, study says, “Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2013.