ArticleBMC geriatrics2026
Delirium care in crisis: a retrospective analysis of reduced hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound shifts in healthcare utilization. Little is known about how this crisis affected the vulnerable group of patients with delirium on a system level. The goals of this study where to examine whether this crisis: (1) altered the number of inpatient admissions for delirium, (2) altered the number of hospital-based outpatient admissions for delirium, (3) affected disease burden, all-cause in-hospital mortality or length of stay for inpatient delirium cases. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe retrospectively analysed routine and health claim data from 7,720 admissions for delirium from 86 German hospitals and compared pandemic and pre-pandemic data. We included all cases with the main discharge diagnosis from the International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10): "F05 Delirium, not induced by alcohol and other psychoactive substances" from 2019 to 2022. The mean age was 80.9 years in the pandemic period and 80.7 years in the pre-pandemic period. Admission rates, length of stay, disease burden (case mix, comorbidities) and complications (i.e., intensive care admission, all-cause in-hospital mortality) were assessed via (generalized) mixed models.
resultsWe observed a 20% decrease in inpatient admissions for delirium during the pandemic (p < 0.001). This reduction was not offset by hospital-based outpatient care. Case mix index values, individual secondary diagnoses and complications were unchanged or reduced during specific pandemic periods. Moreover, time all-cause in-hospital mortality remained unchanged. The proportion of elective admissions decreased from 18% to 12% (p < 0.001). The Length of hospital stay remained unchanged.
conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a marked reduction in inpatient admissions for delirium, which was not offset by hospital-based outpatient care. Changes in admission patterns and disease burden indicators suggest altered thresholds and pathways for admissions for delirium during the pandemic. These findings point to potential gaps in access to inpatient delirium care during the pandemic. Such real-world evidence is essential for improving healthcare for vulnerable groups, such as those with delirium.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.