The condition, once known as “ICU psychosis,” disproportionately affects seniors and those who have been heavily sedated—and the delusions can last long after they’re discharged. Patients treated in intensive-care units who are heavily sedated and on ventilators are particularly likely to become delirious; some studies place the rate as high as 85 percent. But the condition is common among patients recovering from surgery and in those with something as easily treated as a urinary-tract infection.

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