Study: ICU Can Pose Brain Risks

A study finds that Intensive-Care Units can pose long-term brain risks.

FOX News Radio’s Bill Vitka reports:

The ICU could be bad for your brain. Nearly 80% of patients with prolonged stays in intensive care suffer mental impairment long after release. More than half showed signs similar to Alzheimer’s and traumatic brain injury according to the New England Journal of Medicine. It is common for ICU patients to be kept heavily sedated, immobilized and on mechanical ventilation. Those conditions can induce delirium — and longer stays can trigger elevated risk for dementia once you’re out. The report says hospitals need to do a better job of keeping patients alert, and provide rehab to restore concentration, thinking and memory.

Bill Vitka, FOX News Radio.