Updated Jan 11, 2021 | 11:58 IST They also noted that patient care factors, some of which are related to pressures posed on health care by the pandemic, also appear to have played a significant role. COVID-19 ICU patients are at high risk of brain dysfunction, finds study | Photo Credit: iStock Images New Delhi: COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care in the early months of the pandemic experienced a higher burden of delirium and coma than is typically found in those hospitalised with acute respiratory failure, according to the largest study of its kind to date. The research, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, tracked the incidence of delirium and coma in over 2,000 COVID-19 patients admitted before April 28, 2020, to 69 adult intensive care units across 14 countries.