ABSTRACT
Background and aims: Rare neurological syndromes have been associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Despite the growing number of cases reported, the characteristics of neurological diagnosis following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and the underlying etiologic mechanisms still need further investigations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between specific neurological symptoms and syndromes and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Methods: In this retrospective, single center cohort study, we included all adult inpatients consecutively admitted to the Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Neurology Unit, of the ASST Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, from January 2021 to August 2021. Results: Out of 871 consecutive patients admitted to Neurology Department, 102 and 61 subjects reported SARS-CoV-2 vaccination within 60 and 30 days, respectively. The most common neurological diagnosis following vaccination included cerebrovascular diseases (n=32), transient medical/neurological unexplained symptoms with negative instrumental tests (MUS, n=25), epileptic disorders (n=11) and demyelinating diseases (n=10). When compared to non-vaccinated cases, MUS emerged as the only diagnosis with higher prevalence in post-vaccine cases at 60 and 30 days (24,5% and 38% vs 7,2% of whole cohort). Conclusion: Unexplained transient neurological symptoms appeared to be the most common neurological condition following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in comparison to nonvaccinated cases.