Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Jaywant A, Vanderlind W, Alexopoulos G, Fridman C, Perlis R, Gunning F
Journal Neuropsychopharmacology
Volume 46
Issue 13
Pagination 2235-2240
Date Published 02/15/2021
ISSN 1740-634X
Keywords COVID-19, Cognitive Dysfunction
Abstract Early reports and case series suggest cognitive deficits occurs in some patients with COVID-19. We evaluated the frequency, severity, and profile of cognitive dysfunction in patients recovering from prolonged COVID-19 hospitalization who required acute inpatient rehabilitation prior to discharge. We analyzed cross-sectional scores from the Brief Memory and Executive Test (BMET) in a cohort of N = 57 COVID-19 patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation, calculating the frequency of impairment based on neuropsychologist diagnosis and by age-normed BMET subtests. In total, 43 patients (75%) were male, 35 (61%) were non-white, and mean age was 64.5 (SD = 13.9) years. In total, 48 (84%) were previously living at home independently. Two patients had documented preexisting cognitive dysfunction; none had known dementia. Patients were evaluated at a mean of 43.2 (SD = 19.2) days after initial admission. In total, 50 patients (88%) had documented hypoxemic respiratory failure and 44 (77%) required intubation. Forty-six patients (81%) had cognitive impairment, ranging from mild to severe. Deficits were common in working memory (26/47 [55%] of patients), set-shifting (21/44 [47%]), divided attention (18/39 [46%]), and processing speed (14/35 [40%]). Executive dysfunction was not significantly associated with intubation length or the time from extubation to assessment, psychiatric diagnosis, or preexisting cardiovascular/metabolic disease. Attention and executive functions are frequently impaired in COVID-19 patients who require acute rehabilitation prior to discharge. Though interpretation is limited by lack of a comparator group, these results provide an early benchmark for identifying and characterizing cognitive difficulties after COVID-19. Given the frequency and pattern of impairment, easy-to-disseminate interventions that target attention and executive dysfunctions may be beneficial to this population.
DOI 10.1038/s41386-021-00978-8
PubMed ID 33589778
PubMed Central ID PMC7884062
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