Neurology and COVID-19: Case series of neurological complications in 96 patients admitted at a university hospital

Abstract

Background: There are multisystemic consequences secondary to SARSCoV- 2 infection. Aim: To characterize neurological complications in patients admitted due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: Review of medical records of patients aged over 15 years with COVID-19 evaluated by the neurology team between April and August 2020 at a university hospital. Severity of the infection, referral reasons, neurological diagnoses and laboratory results were registered. The diagnoses were defined by consensus among the members of the hospital neurology group. Cerebrovascular and inflammatory diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system were defined as "probably associated" or "possibly associated" to COVID-19. Results: Ninety-six patients had at least 1 new neurological complication. 74% were admitted due to pneumonia and 20% due to a neurological disease. The most common reasons for neurological referral were impaired consciousness (39%), focal neurological deficit (24%), headache (9%) and seizures (5%). The most relevant neurological diagnoses were delirium in 48 patients, stroke in 24, critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy in 17, seizures in 14, brachial plexopathy in 3, compressive neuropathies in 5, encephalitis in 1, possible vasculitis in 1 and Guillain-Barré syndrome in 1. Stroke and epilepsy were associated with increased length of hospital stay, but without differences in mortality. Conclusions: The spectrum of neurological complications of COVID-19 is wide. There are clinical entities typical of critically ill patients and also diseases associated directly and indirectly with the SARS-CoV2 infection.