RESUMO
Background: COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, and still constitutes a serious health problem affecting millions of people across the world. The evaluation and follow-up of ongoing and/or newly developing neurological involvement after recovery from COVID-19 are important. This study aims to reveal post-COVID-19 neurological symptoms and risk factors for their development. Method(s): Patients over the age of 18 years who applied to centers, at least 4 weeks after COVID-19 infection and agreed to participate in the study were included in this cross-sectional study between January 20 and March 15, 2021. The patients were evaluated face to face, and their sociodemographic data, medical history, post-COVID-19 neurological symptoms, treatments, and Beck Depression Inventory scores were recorded. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23 for Windows software package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Result(s): Four hundred patients were included in this study, an average of 108+5.12 days had passed after the onset of COVID-19. The rate of post-COVID-19 neurological involvement was 73.3%, and the top 3 most common symptoms were headache (47%), myalgia (43%), and sleep disturbance (39%). Having depression (OR: 4.54, 95% Cl:1.88-10.96), female gender (OR:2.18, 95% Cl:1.36-3.49), hospitalization (OR: 2.01, 95% Cl:103-3.64), and usage of favipiravir (OR:2.07 95 Cl:1.15-3.72) were determined as independent predictors of developing prolonged neurological symptoms. Conclusion(s): The long-term consequences of COVID-19 remain uncertain. It should be remembered that neurological symptoms are very common in post-infectious patients and long-term follow-up may be required in the management of this condition. Copyright © 2022, ASEAN Neurological Association. All rights reserved.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), having an increased inflammatory state due to an imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, intermittent hypoxia, and increased cytokines, may aggravate the immune response for COVID-19 infection. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of OSA upon inflammatory response and length of stay in patients with favorable outcomes. METHODS: Patients admitted to an outpatient clinic after being hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 were included consecutively in this cross-sectional multicenter observational study. STOP-Bang Questionnaire and a cut-off value of 3 points were used to identify patients with a high risk of OSA. RESULTS: Study population consisted of 201 patients with a median STOP-Bang score of 2.0 (1.0-4.0) points. According to the cut-off value of 3 points, 94 (46.8%) patients were classified as high-risk OSA patients. High-risk OSA patients were older, had many comorbidities such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus, had higher serum D-dimer, ferritin, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin measurements, and had a longer hospital stay. Possible risk factors associated with length of stay were age, lymphocyte count, and total STOP-Bang score. Multivariable analysis revealed that a 1 point increase in STOP-Bang score results in a 0.43 day longer hospital stay. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of OSA within COVID-19 patients with favorable outcomes is similar to the general population. However, the length of stay is related to the presence of high-risk OSA. Our study, therefore, suggests that OSA is related to delayed improvement of COVID-19 infection.