# Clinical and Biological Predictors of Delirium and Long-term Cognitive Outcomes in COVID19 Patients

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $197,204

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Currently, there are over 14 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally with over 3.7
million confirmed cases in the United States alone. One of the early presenting neurological
symptoms of individuals who are critically ill from COVID-19 is altered mental status, or delirium.
Delirium, defined as an acute disorder of attention and cognition, is a frequent, life-threatening
clinical syndrome. Delirium has been linked to acceleration of cognitive decline, and may also
be unmasking underlying vulnerability due to pre-existing dementia pathology in those who do
not have dementia or are mildly impaired. In this application, we propose i) to identify baseline
clinical risk factors and blood biomarkers that are associated with delirium (Specific Aim 1) and
ii) to determine the association between clinical risk factors, blood biomarkers, and in-hospital
delirium with future cognitive decline in patients with COVID-19 (Specific Aim 2).
 For this proposal, we will administer a battery of cognitive tests and self-reported
measures by phone at 6 months following hospital discharge. Cognitive test results will be
reviewed and adjudicated by investigators with expertise in cognitive assessments. Clinical risk
factors and blood biomarkers of inflammation available through electronic health records will be
used to determine the association between baseline predisposing factors and in-hospital
delirium (Specific Aim 1). Then, the association between clinical risk factors, blood inflammatory
biomarkers, occurrence of in-hospital delirium and cognitive outcome at 6 months will be
determined (Specific Aim 1).
 This proposal will characterize potential blood biomarkers for in-hospital occurrence of
delirium, which may allow cost-effective implementation of interventions to prevent delirium.
Additionally, this proposal will allow preliminary data collection to help further our understanding
of the cognitive domains most impacted by COVID-19. This, in turn, will inform our design of an
efficient long-term follow-up study to reduce patient burden. Data from the proposed project will
also allow identification of high-risk patients who may need earlier clinical intervention for
cognitive problems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10222894
- **Project number:** 3R01AG057725-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Esther Seunghee Oh
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $197,204
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10222894

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10222894, Clinical and Biological Predictors of Delirium and Long-term Cognitive Outcomes in COVID19 Patients (3R01AG057725-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10222894. Licensed CC0.

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