Brain functional connectivity alterations associated with neuropsychological performance 6-9 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Neuropsychological deficits and brain damage following SARS-CoV-2 infection are not well understood. Then, 116 patients, with either severe, moderate, or mild disease in the acute phase underwent neuropsychological and olfactory tests, as well as completed psychiatric and respiratory questionnaires at 223 ± 42 days postinfection. Additionally, a subgroup of 50 patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients in the severe group displayed poorer verbal episodic memory performances, and moderate patients had reduced mental flexibility. Neuroimaging revealed patterns of hypofunctional and hyperfunctional connectivities in severe patients, while only hyperconnectivity patterns were observed for moderate. The default mode, somatosensory, dorsal attention, subcortical, and cerebellar networks were implicated. Partial least squares correlations analysis confirmed specific association between memory, executive functions performances and brain functional connectivity. The severity of the infection in the acute phase is a predictor of neuropsychological performance 6-9 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes long-term memory and executive dysfunctions, related to large-scale functional brain connectivity alterations.

[Advances in hospital based internal medicine]. / Nouveautés en médecine interne hospitalière.

Hospital based internal medicine has been strongly solicited for over two years with the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. This epidemic continues to evolve and represents a strain for public health. Numerous studies have addressed issues concerning this epidemic, and multiple novelties concerning other frequent pathologies have also been published. Management strategies of cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastro-intestinal and metabolic diseases are discussed.

La médecine interne hospitalière a été fortement sollicitée depuis 2 ans avec l'épidémie de SARS-CoV-2. Celle-ci continue d'évoluer et reste une épreuve pour la santé publique. Une pléthore d'études a tenté de résoudre les multiples défis que représente cette épidémie, mais de multiples nouveautés concernant d'autres pathologies fréquentes sont également apparues. La prise en charge des maladies cardiovasculaires, pulmonaires, gastro-intestinales et métaboliques est évoquée.

Functional connectivity underlying cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in post-COVID-19 syndrome: is anosognosia a key determinant?

Lack of awareness of cognitive impairment (i.e. anosognosia) could be a key factor for distinguishing between neuropsychological post-COVID-19 condition phenotypes. In this context, the 2-fold aim of the present study was to (i) establish the prevalence of anosognosia for memory impairment, according to the severity of the infection in the acute phase and (ii) determine whether anosognosic patients with post-COVID syndrome have a different cognitive and psychiatric profile from nosognosic patients, with associated differences in brain functional connectivity. A battery of neuropsychological, psychiatric, olfactory, dyspnoea, fatigue and quality-of-life tests was administered 227.07 ± 42.69 days post-SARS-CoV-2 infection to 102 patients (mean age: 56.35 years, 65 men, no history of neurological, psychiatric, neuro-oncological or neurodevelopmental disorder prior to infection) who had experienced either a mild (not hospitalized; n = 45), moderate (conventional hospitalization; n = 34) or severe (hospitalization with intensive care unit stay and mechanical ventilation; n = 23) presentation in the acute phase. Patients were first divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of anosognosia for memory deficits (26 anosognosic patients and 76 nosognosic patients). Of these, 49 patients underwent an MRI. Structural images were visually analysed, and statistical intergroup analyses were then performed on behavioural and functional connectivity measures. Only 15.6% of patients who presented mild disease displayed anosognosia for memory dysfunction, compared with 32.4% of patients with moderate presentation and 34.8% of patients with severe disease. Compared with nosognosic patients, those with anosognosia for memory dysfunction performed significantly more poorly on objective cognitive and olfactory measures. By contrast, they gave significantly more positive subjective assessments of their quality of life, psychiatric status and fatigue. Interestingly, the proportion of patients exhibiting a lack of consciousness of olfactory deficits was significantly higher in the anosognosic group. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a significant decrease in connectivity, in the anosognosic group as compared with the nosognosic group, within and between the following networks: the left default mode, the bilateral somatosensory motor, the right executive control, the right salient ventral attention and the bilateral dorsal attention networks, as well as the right Lobules IV and V of the cerebellum. Lack of awareness of cognitive disorders and, to a broader extent, impairment of the self-monitoring brain system, may be a key factor for distinguishing between the clinical phenotypes of post-COVID syndrome with neuropsychological deficits.

Long COVID Neuropsychological Deficits after Severe, Moderate, or Mild Infection

There is growing awareness that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, even in its mild or moderate respiratory forms, can include long-term neuropsychological deficits. Standardized neuropsychological, psychiatric, neurological, and olfactory tests were administered to 45 patients 236.51 ±22.54 days after hospital discharge following severe, moderate, or mild respiratory severity from SARS-CoV-2 infection (severe = intensive care unit hospitalization, moderate = conventional hospitalization, mild = no hospitalization). Deficits were found in all domains of cognition, and the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was relatively high in the three groups. The severe infection group performed more poorly on long-term episodic memory tests and exhibited greater anosognosia than did the other two groups. Those with moderate infection had poorer emotion recognition, which was positively correlated with persistent olfactory dysfunction. Individuals with mild infection were more stressed, anxious, and depressed. The data support the hypothesis that the virus targets the central nervous system (notably the limbic system) and the notion that there are different neuropsychological phenotypes.

Medical students' perceptions and coping strategies during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: studies, clinical implication, and professional identity.

BACKGROUND: The unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic during spring 2020 has disrupted medical education worldwide. The University of Geneva decided to shift on-site classwork to online learning; many exams were transformed from summative to formative evaluations and most clinical activities were suspended. We aimed to investigate the perceived impact of those adaptations by the students at the Faculty of Medicine. METHODS: We sent an online self-administered survey to medical students from years 2 to 6 of the University of Geneva, three months after the beginning of the pandemic. The survey explored students' main activities during the first three months of the pandemic, the impact of the crisis on their personal life, on their training and on their professional identity, the level of stress they experienced and which coping strategies they developed. The survey consisted of open-ended and closed questions and was administered in French. RESULTS: A total of 58.8% of students responded (n = 467) and were homogeneously distributed across gender. At the time of the survey, two thirds of the participants were involved in COVID-19-related activities; 72.5% voluntarily participated, mainly fueled by a desire to help and feel useful. Many participants (58.8%) reported a feeling of isolation encountered since the start of the pandemic. Main coping strategies reported were physical activity and increased telecommunications with their loved ones. Most students described a negative impact of the imposed restrictions on their training, reporting decreased motivation and concentration in an unusual or distraction-prone study environment at home and missing interactions with peers and teachers. Students recruited to help at the hospital in the context of increasing staff needs reported a positive impact due to the enriched clinical exposure. Perceived stress levels were manageable across the surveyed population. If changed, the crisis had a largely positive impact on students' professional identity; most highlighted the importance of the health care profession for society and confirmed their career choice. CONCLUSION: Through this comprehensive picture, our study describes the perceived impact of the pandemic on University of Geneva medical students, their training and their professional identity three months after the start of the pandemic. These results allowed us to gain valuable insight that reinforced the relevance of assessing the evolution of the situation in the long run and the importance of developing institutional support tools for medical students throughout their studies.

Decrease in pain perception during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection: a case series.

ABSTRACT: Many reports have described pain appearance or an increase of chronic pain concomitant to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Here, we describe the cases of 3 patients with chronic cancer pain, in which COVID-19 was associated with a dramatic reduction or disappearance of pain. Pain reappeared after recovery from COVID-19. Neurological imaging and pathological findings, when available, were inconclusive. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case series reporting an acute reduction in pain perception in COVID-19. We believe further investigation is mandatory because it could shed new light on the mechanisms of pain perception and modulation.

Role of Intermediate Care Unit Admission and Noninvasive Respiratory Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. We developed a triage strategy including noninvasive respiratory support and admission to the intermediate care unit (IMCU). ICU admission was restricted to patients requiring invasive ventilation. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to the IMCU. METHOD: Retrospective cohort including consecutive patients admitted between March 28 and April 27, 2020. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure avoiding ICU admission. Secondary outcomes included the rate of emergency intubation, 28-day mortality, and predictors of ICU admission. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-seven patients with COVID-19-associated pneumonia were admitted to the IMCU. Among the 85 patients admitted for worsening respiratory failure, 52/85 (61%) avoided ICU admission. In multivariate analysis, PaO2/FiO2 (OR 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99) and BMI (OR 0.88; 95% CI: 0.78-0.98) were significantly associated with ICU admission. No death or emergency intubation occurred in the IMCU. CONCLUSIONS: IMCU admission including standardized triage criteria, self-proning, and noninvasive respiratory support prevents ICU admission for a large proportion of patients with COVID-19 hypoxemic respiratory failure. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMCUs may play an important role in preserving ICU capacity by avoiding ICU admission for patients with worsening respiratory failure and allowing early discharge of ICU patients.

COVID-19 encephalopathy: Clinical and neurobiological features.

Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been associated with neurological complications, including acute encephalopathy. To better understand the neuropathogenesis of this acute encephalopathy, we describe a series of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) encephalopathy, highlighting its phenomenology and its neurobiological features. On May 10, 2020, 707 patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 were hospitalized at the Geneva University Hospitals; 31 (4.4%) consecutive patients with an acute encephalopathy (64.6 ± 12.1 years; 6.5% female) were included in this series, after exclusion of comorbid neurological conditions, such as stroke or meningitis. The severity of the COVID-19 encephalopathy was divided into severe and mild based on the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS): severe cases (n = 14, 45.2%) were defined on a RASS < -3 at worst presentation. The severe form of this so-called COVID-19 encephalopathy presented more often a headache. The severity of the pneumonia was not associated with the severity of the COVID-19 encephalopathy: 28 of 31 (90%) patients did develop an acute respiratory distress syndrome, without any difference between groups (p = .665). Magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities were found in 92.0% (23 of 25 patients) with an intracranial vessel gadolinium enhancement in 85.0% (17 of 20 patients), while an increased cerebrospinal fluid/serum quotient of albumin suggestive of blood-brain barrier disruption was reported in 85.7% (6 of 7 patients). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 was negative for all patients in the cerebrospinal fluid. Although different pathophysiological mechanisms may contribute to this acute encephalopathy, our findings suggest the hypothesis of disturbed brain homeostasis and vascular dysfunction consistent with a SARS-CoV-2-induced endotheliitis.

Macrophage activation syndrome as an unusual presentation of paucisymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection: A case report.

RATIONALE: Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a rare life-threatening condition characterized by cytokine-mediated tissue injury and multiorgan dysfunction. PATIENT CONCERNS: We describe the unique case of young man who developed MAS as the sole manifestation of an otherwise paucisymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. DIAGNOSES: Clinical and biological criteria led to the diagnosis of MAS; cytokine profile was highly suggestive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs was negative, but serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G resulted positive leading to the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated with empiric antibiotic and hydroxychloroquine. OUTCOMES: Clinical improvement ensued. At follow-up, the patient is well. LESSON: SARS-CoV-2 infection may trigger develop life-threatening complications, like MAS. This can be independent from coronavirus disease 2019 gravity.