tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Rep
. 2025 Aug 3;15(1):28309.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-13016-0. Ventilatory response and delirium risk in hospitalised patients with acute hypoxia due to COVID-19
Nikolai Ravn Aarskog[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hanna Othilie Lindvig Bjørsrud[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Aleksander Rygh Holten[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Leiv Otto Watne[SUP] 3 5 6 [/SUP], Bjørn Erik Neerland[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Morten Rostrup[SUP] 4 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Mountaineers with a high ventilatory response to hypoxia experience greater cognitive impairment at high altitude, possibly because hyperventilation causes hypocapnia, cerebral vasoconstriction and ultimately cerebral ischaemia. We hypothesised that a high ventilatory response, and consequently a lower arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB]), could increase the risk of delirium in hospitalised patients with acute hypoxia. To test our hypothesis, we conducted a cohort study in which PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB] and arterial oxygen saturation were measured upon hospital admission in 126 patients with COVID-19. After adjusting for oxygen saturation, we found that a lower PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB] was associated with a higher risk of delirium during hospital admission (risk ratio 1.67 [95% confidence interval 1.09-2.54] per 1 kilopascal reduction, P = 0.017). The association remained statistically significant after adjusting for other well-established risk factors for delirium. This finding supports our hypothesis that a high hypoxic ventilatory response increases the risk of delirium in patients with acute hypoxia.
Keywords: COVID-19; Cerebral vasoconstriction; Delirium; Hypocapnia; Hypoxia; Hypoxic ventilatory response.
. 2025 Aug 3;15(1):28309.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-13016-0. Ventilatory response and delirium risk in hospitalised patients with acute hypoxia due to COVID-19
Nikolai Ravn Aarskog[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hanna Othilie Lindvig Bjørsrud[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Aleksander Rygh Holten[SUP] 3 4 [/SUP], Leiv Otto Watne[SUP] 3 5 6 [/SUP], Bjørn Erik Neerland[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Morten Rostrup[SUP] 4 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 40754538
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-13016-0
Mountaineers with a high ventilatory response to hypoxia experience greater cognitive impairment at high altitude, possibly because hyperventilation causes hypocapnia, cerebral vasoconstriction and ultimately cerebral ischaemia. We hypothesised that a high ventilatory response, and consequently a lower arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB]), could increase the risk of delirium in hospitalised patients with acute hypoxia. To test our hypothesis, we conducted a cohort study in which PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB] and arterial oxygen saturation were measured upon hospital admission in 126 patients with COVID-19. After adjusting for oxygen saturation, we found that a lower PaCO[SUB]2[/SUB] was associated with a higher risk of delirium during hospital admission (risk ratio 1.67 [95% confidence interval 1.09-2.54] per 1 kilopascal reduction, P = 0.017). The association remained statistically significant after adjusting for other well-established risk factors for delirium. This finding supports our hypothesis that a high hypoxic ventilatory response increases the risk of delirium in patients with acute hypoxia.
Keywords: COVID-19; Cerebral vasoconstriction; Delirium; Hypocapnia; Hypoxia; Hypoxic ventilatory response.