Background and aims
Cognitive deficits are a common complication of COVID-19. Multiple factors associated with the illness and its treatment may contribute to cognitive deficits. In this study, we analysed neuropsychological data from a cohort of patients recovering from COVID-19 hospitalization who required different types of oxygen/ventilation therapy.
Methods
We recruited 77 (aged 22–77 years; 57 males) patients hospitalized for complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different COVID units, which had required different oxygen (O2) therapy (no-O2 = 9, low-flow O2 = 35, CPAP = 26, intubation = 7). Participants underwent neuropsychological testing with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-NT) about 5 months after hospital discharge.
Results
Of all participants, 64% showed deficits in at least one test of the BRB-NT; the most affected functions were processing speed (41.6% of participants) and delayed verbal recall (27.3%).
O2 therapy with CPAP was associated with worse verbal memory performance (p = 0.033), compared to no-O2 therapy. Attention and processing speed deficits were not associated with type of O2 therapy (p = 0.889), but correlated with thromboplastin (aPTT) ratio (rs = 0.298, p = 0.019).
Worse delayed visuospatial recall was associated with hyposmia (p = 0.011) and dysgeusia (p = 0.035).
Conclusions
Cognitive deficits are frequent, persistent, and disabling even for five months following hospitalization for COVID-19. Therefore, neurological and neuropsychological monitoring should be put in place after discharge to help mitigate the effects of these symptoms, improving the quality of life of COVID-19 survivors.