Journal of neurovirology
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Journal of neurovirology · Feb 2021
Case ReportsPersistent COVID-19-associated neurocognitive symptoms in non-hospitalized patients.
As cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mount worldwide, attention is needed on potential long-term neurologic impacts for the majority of patients who experience mild to moderate illness managed as outpatients. To date, there has not been discussion of persistent neurocognitive deficits in patients with milder COVID-19. We present two cases of non-hospitalized patients recovering from COVID-19 with persistent neurocognitive symptoms. ⋯ An observational cohort study of individuals recovering from COVID-19 (14 or more days following symptom onset) identified that among the first 100 individuals enrolled, 14 were non-hospitalized patients reporting persistent cognitive issues. These 14 participants had a median age of 39 years (interquartile range: 35-56), and cognitive symptoms were present for at least a median of 98 days (interquartile range: 71-120 following acute COVID-19 symptoms); no participants with follow-up evaluation reported symptom resolution. We discuss potential mechanisms to be explored in future studies, including direct viral effects, indirect consequences of immune activation, and immune dysregulation causing auto-antibody production.
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Journal of neurovirology · Feb 2021
Observational StudyNeurological features and outcome in COVID-19: dementia can predict severe disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 22 million people worldwide. Although much has been learned about COVID-19, we do not know much about its neurological features and their outcome. This observational study was conducted on the patients of Imam Hossein Hospital, and 361 adult patients (214 males) with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from March 5, 2020 to April 3, 2020, were enrolled. ⋯ Almost half of the patients experienced at least one neurological symptom, which may be the initial presentation of COVID-19. Dementia appears to be associated with severe COVID-19. Mortality was higher in patients with neurological complications, and these patients needed more intensive care.