Encephalitis as a neurological complication of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence, outcomes, and predictors.
Eur J Neurol
; 28(10): 3491-3502, 2021 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1607956
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
Although COVID-19 predominantly affects the respiratory system, recent studies have reported the occurrence of neurological disorders such as stroke in relation to COVID-19 infection. Encephalitis is an inflammatory condition of the brain that has been described as a severe neurological complication of COVID-19. Despite a growing number of reported cases, encephalitis related to COVID-19 infection has not been adequately characterised. To address this gap, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to describe the incidence, clinical course, and outcomes of patients who suffer from encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19.METHODS:
All studies published between 1 November 2019 and 24 October 2020 that reported on patients who developed encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19 were included. Only cases with radiological and/or biochemical evidence of encephalitis were included.RESULTS:
In this study, 610 studies were screened and 23 studies reporting findings from 129,008 patients, including 138 with encephalitis, were included. The average time from diagnosis of COVID-19 to onset of encephalitis was 14.5 days (range = 10.8-18.2 days). The average incidence of encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19 was 0.215% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.056%-0.441%). The average mortality rate of encephalitis in COVID-19 patients was 13.4% (95% CI = 3.8%-25.9%). These patients also had deranged clinical parameters, including raised serum inflammatory markers and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis.CONCLUSIONS:
Although encephalitis is an uncommon complication of COVID-19, when present, it results in significant morbidity and mortality. Severely ill COVID-19 patients are at higher risk of suffering from encephalitis as a complication of the infection.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Encephalitis
/
COVID-19
/
Nervous System Diseases
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Reviews
/
Systematic review/Meta Analysis
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur J Neurol
Journal subject:
Neurology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ene.14913
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