ABSTRACT
COVID-19 disease has spread around the world since December 2019. Neurological symptoms are part of its clinical spectrum. Objective: To know the neurological manifestations in patients infected by COVID-19 in Argentina. Methods: Multicenter study conducted in adults, from May 2020 to January 2021, with confirmed COVID-19 and neurological symptoms. Demographic variables, existence of systemic or neurological comorbidities, the form of onset of the infection, alteration in complementary studies and the degree of severity of neurological symptoms were recorded. Results: 817 patients from all over the country were included, 52% male, mean age 38 years, most of them without comorbidities or previous neurological pathology. The first symptom of the infection was neurological in 56.2% of the cases, predominantly headache (69%), then anosmia/ageusia (66%). Myalgias (52%), allodynia/hyperalgesia (18%), and asthenia (6%) were also reported. 3.2% showed diffuse CNS involvement such as encephalopathy or seizures. 1.7% had cerebrovascular complications. Sleep disorders were observed in 3.2%. 6 patients were reported with Guillain Barré (GBS), peripheral neuropathy (3.4%), tongue paresthesia (0.6%), hearing loss (0.4%), plexopathy (0.3%). The severity of neurological symptoms was correlated with age and the existence of comorbidities. Conclusions: Our results, similar to those of other countries, show two types of neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19: some potentially disabling or fatal such as GBS or encephalitis, and others less devastating, but more frequent such as headache or anosmia that demand increasingly long-term care.
ABSTRACT
Background: Cancer patients are more susceptible to infections and potentially at higher risk to develop COVID-19. Tumor type and antitumor treatment may also affect both the susceptibility to and the severity of SARS COV-2. Methods: To analyze the distribution of patients who developed COVID-19 during active antineoplastic therapy and the related clinical course by tumor type, stage and class of oncologic treatment (chemo, immune, biologic, other) a multicenter, retro-prospective, observational study was proposed to the Hospital Medical Oncologic Units of the National Health Service in Italy (168 centers of the Collegio Italiano dei Primari Oncologi Medici Ospedalieri -CIPOMO). Data were collected on demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment setting, type of ongoing anti-cancer therapy and COVID-19 clinical course (phenotype, hospitalization, therapy, duration and outcome). Eligibility required a positive COVID-19 molecular test before May 4th, 2020 and at least 1 course of antitumor therapy delivered after January 15th. Results: At the present analysis data are available for 116 of 168 centers (7 declined, 28 pending, 17 data awaited). 64 of 116 centers (55%) had COVID-19 positive cases (cases /center: median 3, range 1-40). At these 64 centers, 283 positive cases (males 158, 55.9% - females 125, 44.1%;median age 67 years, range 28-89) were observed among a total population of 40894 patients receiving active treatment between January 15 and May 4 2020. 65 of 283 (23%) had cardiovascular comorbidities and 7 (2%) pre-existent pulmonary disease. 239/283 patients (84.4%) were receiving treatment for metastatic disease and 44 (15.6%) in the adjuvant setting. Breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer were the main tumor types accounting for 61 % of cases. Conclusions: The occurrence of COVID-19 among cancer patients receiving active antitumor treatment appears to reflect tumor epidemiology. Full analysis of the distribution of COVID-19 occurrence and clinical course by tumor type, stage and oncologic treatment will be presented. Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.