Table 1.
General characteristics of 222 COVID-19 patients with neurologic manifestations
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 65 (53–72) |
| Male | 136 (61.3) |
| Neurologic comorbidities | 47 (21.2) |
| Prior stroke | 20 (9.0) |
| Neurodegenerative disease | 17 (7.7) |
| Epilepsy | 5 (2.3) |
| Other | 5 (2.3) |
| Diagnosis of COVID-19 | |
| Positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal PCR | 192 (86.5) |
| Positive SARS-CoV-2 serology | 4 (1.8) |
| Typical clinical course and chest CT | 26 (11.7) |
| Severity of COVID-19a | |
| Mild | 55 (24.8) |
| Moderate | 65 (29.3) |
| Severe | 46 (20.7) |
| Critical | 56 (25.2) |
| Occurrence of neurologic manifestations | |
| Neurologic manifestations occurring as first symptoms | 45 (20.3) |
| Neurologic manifestation occurring after first COVID-19 symptoms | 141 (63.5) |
| Time (days) between first symptoms and neurologic manifestation, median (IQR) | 7 (1–12) |
| Neurologic manifestation after withholding sedation in ICU | 36 (16.2) |
| Neurologic symptoms | |
| Altered mental status | 117 (52.4) |
| Focal central neurologic symptoms | 97 (43.7) |
| Peripheral limb weakness | 26 (11.7) |
| Headache | 24 (10.8) |
| Seizure | 21 (9.5) |
| Cranial neuropathy | 10 (4.5) |
| Movement disorder | 8 (3.6) |
| Anosmia | 7 (3.2) |
| Dizziness | 5 (2.3) |
| Ageusia | 4 (1.8) |
| Neurologic assessment | 205 (92.3) |
| Brain imaging | 192 (86.5) |
| Brain MRI | 157 (70.7) |
| Brain CT scan | 35 (15.8) |
| Presence of acute lesion, n/N (%) | 85/192 (44.3) |
| Spine MRI | 6 (2.7) |
| Cerebrospinal fluid examination | 97 (43.7) |
| WBC count >5/mm³, n/N (%) | 18/97 (18.6) |
| SARS-CoV-2 PCR in cerebrospinal fluid | 75 (33.8) |
| Positive, n/N (%) | 2/75 (2.7) |
| Electroencephalogram | 74 (33.3) |
| Electroneuromyography | 19 (8.6) |
| Follow-up (days), median (IQR) | 24 (17–34) |
| Death | 28 (12.6) |
| Acute respiratory distress syndrome | 17 (7.7) |
| Stroke | 5 (2.3) |
| Other | 6 (2.7) |
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise indicated. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; CT, computed tomography; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; WBC, white blood cell.
a
According to National Institute of Health guidelines.