His team analyzed data on 4,711 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the Montefiore system between March 1 and April 16. ... Among patients who had brain imaging, 55 were diagnosed with stroke and 258 had confusion or altered thinking ability. Compared to the control group, patients with stroke were twice as likely to die (49% versus 24%) and patients with confusion also had a significantly higher risk of death (40% versus 33%), according to findings published online Dec. 18 in the journal Neurology.