Table 1.
Demographics, clinical features, investigations, management, and outcomes by study group
| COVID-19 neurology group (n=27) | PIMS-TS neurology group (n=25) | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 9 (1–16) | 10 (1–17) | 0·26 | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 10 (37%) | 12 (48%) | 0·42 | |
| Male | 17 (63%) | 13 (52%) | .. | |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 13 (48%) | 3 (12%) | .. | |
| Black | 6 (22%) | 14 (56%) | .. | |
| Asian | 8 (30%) | 8 (32%) | 0·0048* | |
| Underlying comorbidity | ||||
| Neurological comorbidities | 8 (30%) | 2 (8%) | 0·048 | |
| Other comorbidities | 1 (4%) | 3 (12%) | 0·26 | |
| Clinical features | ||||
| Systemic features† | 15 (56%) | 25 (100%) | 0·0001 | |
| Respiratory involvement at presentation | 6 (22%) | 6 (24%) | 0·99 | |
| Encephalopathy | 14 (52%) | 22 (88%) | 0·0048 | |
| Seizures | 8 (30%) | 4 (16%) | 0·24 | |
| Headache or meningism | 4 (15%) | 10 (40%) | 0·041 | |
| Peripheral nervous system involvement | 7 (26%) | 10 (40%) | 0·44 | |
| Focal CNS involvement | 4 (15%) | 6 (24%) | 0·84 | |
| Behavioural change | 3 (11%) | 9 (36%) | 0·080 | |
| Hallucinations | 1 (4%) | 6 (24%) | 0·032 | |
| Recognised para-infectious or post-infectious neurological disease | 13 (48%) | 1 (4%) | 0·0003 | |
| Investigations | ||||
| SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive | 21 (78%) | 11 (44%) | 0·012 | |
| SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive | 12 (44%) | 19 (76%) | 0·021 | |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 1 (1–161) | 290 (80–556) | <0·0001 | |
| Elevated acute-phase reactants‡ | 4 (15%) | 25 (100%) | <0·0001 | |
| Plasma white cell count, cells per μL | 9·9 (4·0–27·3) | 20 (3·0–44·4) | <0·0001 | |
| CSF white cell count >5 cells per μL | 8 (30%) | 3 (12%) | 0·12 | |
| Abnormal neuroimaging | 11/25 (44%) | 17/23 (74%) | 0·036 | |
| Treatment | ||||
| PICU admission | 6 (22%) | 20 (80%) | <0·0001 | |
| Inotropic support | 0 | 13 (52%) | <0·0001 | |
| Immunomodulation | 12 (44%) | 22 (88%) | 0·0010 | |
| Outcome | ||||
| Disability§ | 10 (37%) | 7 (28%) | 0·48 | |
| Death | 0 | 1 (4%) | 0·29 | |
Data are n (%) or median (range), or p values. p values of less than 0·05 were considered significant. PIMS-TS=paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19. CSF=cerebrospinal fluid. PICU=paediatric intensive care unit.
*
Comparison of proportion of patients with Black or Asian ethnicity in the two groups.
†
Systemic features were fever, shock, hypotension, or rash.
‡
Combined acute-phase reactants were defined as lactate dehydrogenase, ferritin, and D-dimers.
§
Disability was defined as a modified Rankin scale score of 2–5.