• Claudio Liguori, Mariangela Pierantozzi, Matteo Spanetta, Loredana Sarmati, Novella Cesta, Marco Iannetta, Josuel Ora, Grazia Genga Mina, Ermanno Puxeddu, Ottavia Balbi, Gabriella Pezzuto, Andrea Magrini, Paola Rogliani, Massimo Andreoni, and Nicola Biagio Mercuri.
• Neurology Unit, University Hospital "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy. Electronic address: dott.claudioliguori@yahoo.it.
• Brain Behav. Immun. 2020 Aug 1; 88: 11-16.

ObjectiveCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a novel pneumonia leading to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Recent studies documented that SARS-Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV2), responsible for COVID-19, can affect the nervous system. The aim of the present observational study was to prospectively assess subjective neurological symptoms (sNS) in patients with SARS-CoV2 infection.MethodsWe included patients hospitalized at the University Hospital of Rome "Tor Vergata", medical center dedicated to the treatment of patients with COVID-19 diagnosis, who underwent an anamnestic interview about sNS consisting of 13 items, each related to a specific symptom, requiring a dichotomized answer.ResultsWe included 103 patients with SARS-CoV2 infection. Ninety-four patients (91.3%) reported at least one sNS. Sleep impairment was the most frequent symptom, followed by dysgeusia, headache, hyposmia, and depression. Women more frequently complained hyposmia, dysgeusia, dizziness, numbeness/paresthesias, daytime sleepiness, and muscle ache. Moreover, muscle ache and daytime sleepiness were more frequent in the first 2 days after admission. Conversely, sleep impairment was more frequent in patients with more than 7 days of hospitalization. In these patients we also documented higher white blood cells and lower C-reactive protein levels. These laboratory findings correlated with the occurrence of hyposmia, dysgeusia, headache, daytime sleepiness, and depression.ConclusionsPatients with SARS-CoV2 infection frequently present with sNS. These symptoms are present from the early phases of the disease. The possibly intrinsic neurotropic properties of SARS-CoV2 may justify the very high frequency of sNS. Further studies targeted at investigating the consequences of SARS-CoV2 infection on the CNS should be planned.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

61 keywords...

hide…