ABSTRACT
Post COVID-19 syndrome is determined as signs and symptoms that appear during or after an infection consistent with SARS-CoV-2 disease, persist for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis. This review presents the neuropathological findings and imaging findings in Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome: the focal point is on the manifestations of involvement evident on brain and spine imaging.
ABSTRACT
RESUMEN La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha provocado aproximadamente 182 millones de casos y cerca de cuatro millones de muertes en todo el mundo, comprometiendo con mayor frecuencia a personas de 25 y 64 años de edad. Esta infección afecta principalmente al sistema respiratorio, pero otros órganos y sistemas pueden verse afectados a corto plazo como el neurológico. Una gran población de pacientes ha logrado superar la infección por el SARS-CoV-2, sin embargo, han comenzado a reportarse una serie de manifestaciones clínicas tardías, básicamente neuropsiquiátricas, dentro de ellas se ha referido a la ansiedad, depresión, deterioro del sueño, dolor muscular, mareos, cefaleas, fatiga, anosmia, entre otros; a este conjunto de manifestaciones tardías se le ha denominado síndrome neurológico post-Covid-19 y requiere por un lado, la atención de la comunidad médica para investigar las manifestaciones tardías o secuelas de esta enfermedad y por otro lado, una vigilancia médica ante la consulta de pacientes con estas manifestaciones.
ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has caused approximately 182 million cases and nearly four million deaths worldwide, most frequently involving people between 25 and 64 years of age. This infection primarily affects the respiratory system, but other organs and systems can be affected in the short term, such as the neurological system. A large population of patients has managed to overcome the SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, a serie of late clinical manifestations have begun to be reported, basically neuropsychiatric, including anxiety, depression, disorder of sleep, muscle pain, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, anosmia, among others; this set of late manifestations has been called post-Covid-19 neurological syndrome and requires, on the one hand, the attention of the medical community to investigate the late manifestations or sequel of this disease and, on the other hand, medical vigilance when consulting patients with these manifestations.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Nervous System Diseases , Humans , Nervous System Diseases/etiology , Phenotype , SARS-CoV-2 , SyndromeSubject(s)
Nervous System Diseases , Neurology , Hospitalization , Humans , India/epidemiology , Tertiary HealthcareABSTRACT
Not applicable.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Nervous System Diseases , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , SyndromeABSTRACT
A subset of recovered COVID-19 patients report persistent neurological symptoms. These include non-specific symptoms (e.g., headaches and fatigue) which were found to be affected by psychological processes in other disorders (e.g., post-concussion syndrome, PCS, after mild traumatic brain injury). The current study assessed the impact of diagnosis threat (i.e., information regarding the long-term neurological impact of COVID-19) and suggestibility on endorsed symptoms of both recovered patients and healthy controls. Method: Recovered patients (n = 90) and healthy controls (n = 210) described their cognitive functioning after being randomly assigned to: (a) Experimental group: These participants read an article that explored long-term neurological symptoms among COVID-19 survivors. (b) Control group: These participants read an article providing general information regarding the disease. Results: Recovered patients, but not healthy controls, endorsed more symptoms in the experimental condition compared to the control condition. Moreover, suggestibility was correlated with endorsement of symptoms. Conclusions: Post COVID-19 neurological symptoms may, at least partially, be affected by non-neurological factors such as diagnosis threat. Information regarding long-term effects of COVID-19 may skew reported symptoms with highly suggestible individuals particularly susceptible to these effects. Further research, however, is needed to validate and elaborate upon these initial findings.
Pacientes con COVID-19 recuperados informan síntomas neurológicos persistentes (e.g., dolor de cabeza y fatiga) que se vieron afectados por procesos psicológicos en otros trastornos (e.g., Síndrome postconmoción cerebral después de una lesión cerebral traumática leve). Se evaluó el impacto de la amenaza del diagnóstico (i.e., información sobre el impacto neurológico a largo plazo del COVID-19) y la sugestión sobre los síntomas respaldados tanto de pacientes recuperados como de controles sanos. Método: Pacientes recuperados (n = 90) y controles sanos (n = 210) informaron sobre su funcionamiento cognitivo después de haber sido asignados al azar a: (a) condición que exploró los síntomas neurológicos a largo plazo entre los sobrevivientes de COVID-19; (b) condición de control que proporciona información general sobre la enfermedad. Resultados: Pacientes recuperados, pero no los controles sanos, aprobaron más síntomas en la condición experimental que en la control. La sugestión se asoció con una mayor aprobación de síntomas. Conclusiones: Los síntomas neurológicos posteriores al COVID-19 pueden verse afectados, al menos parcialmente, por factores no neurológicos como la amenaza del diagnóstico. La información sobre los efectos a largo plazo de COVID-19 puede sesgar los síntomas informados en individuos altamente sugestionables. Se necesitan más investigaciones para validar y desarrollar estos hallazgos iniciales.