Table 1. Characteristics of the Patients with Covid-19 and ARDS.*.
| Variable | All Patients (N=58) |
|---|---|
| Sedation for ARDS | |
| Midazolam | |
| No. of patients (%) | 50 (86) |
| Days of treatment | |
| Median | 4 |
| Interquartile range | 4–7 |
| Propofol | |
| No. of patients (%) | 27 (47) |
| Days of treatment | |
| Median | 0† |
| Interquartile range | 1–6 |
| Sufentanil | |
| No. of patients (%) | 58 (100) |
| Days of treatment | |
| Median | 8 |
| Interquartile range | 4–12 |
| Neurologic signs — no./total no. (%) | 49/58 (84) |
| Temperature >38.5°C at time of clinical examination | 8/49 (16) |
| Positive findings on CAM-ICU‡ | 26/40 (65) |
| Agitation | 40/58 (69) |
| Corticospinal tract signs | 39/58 (67) |
| Dysexecutive syndrome | 14/39 (36) |
| Brain MRI — no./total no. (%) | |
| Leptomeningeal enhancement | 8/13 (62) |
| Perfusion abnormalities | 11/11 (100) |
| Cerebral ischemic stroke | 3/13 (23)§ |
| CSF analysis — no./total no. (%) ¶ | |
| Oligoclonal bands with the same pattern in serum | 2/7 (29)‖ |
| Elevated CSF IgG and CSF protein levels | 1/7 (14)‖ |
| Low albumin level | 4/7 (57) |
| Negative RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in CSF | 7/7 (100) |
ARDS denotes acute respiratory distress syndrome, CSF cerebrospinal fluid, MRI magnetic resonance imaging, RT-PCR reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Some patients received propofol for less than 1 day.
The Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU [intensive care unit] (CAM-ICU) is a diagnostic algorithm for determining the presence or absence of delirium on the basis of four features: acute change or a fluctuation in mental status, inattention, disorganized thinking, and altered level of consciousness.
One of the three ischemic strokes had the appearance of subacute infarcts on MRI and probably existed before SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The seven lumbar punctures were performed in seven of the eight patients who underwent brain MRI and electroencephalography (one lumbar puncture was contraindicated because of anticoagulation).
The patient with oligoclonal bands with the same pattern in serum and the patient with elevated CSF IgG and CSF protein levels are different patients.