Neurological Manifestation in Hospitalized Patients With Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Natasa Pejanovic-Skobic; Kristina Galic; Ilijana Kapcevic; Svjetlana Grgic; Marina Vasilj; Sandra Lakicevic; Marija Bender; Tanja Zovko

doi:10.7759/cureus.44598

Neurological Manifestation in Hospitalized Patients With Acute SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Cureus. 2023 Sep 3;15(9):e44598. doi: 10.7759/cureus.44598. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Natasa Pejanovic-Skobic¹, Kristina Galic², Ilijana Kapcevic³, Svjetlana Grgic⁴, Marina Vasilj², Sandra Lakicevic¹, Marija Bender¹, Tanja Zovko²

Affiliations

¹ Clinic of Neurology, University Clinical Hospital Mostar, Mostar, BIH.
² Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis, University Clinical Hospital Mostar, Mostar, BIH.
³ Emergency Department, Health Care Center Rama, Rama-Prozor, BIH.
⁴ Clinic for Infectious Diseases, University Clinical Hospital Mostar, Mostar, BIH.

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this research is to determine the prevalence and characteristics of neurological manifestations in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. 572 hospitalized patients at the COVID Department of Pulmonology of the Mostar University Clinical Hospital in the six-month period from October 31, 2020, to April 30, 2021, were included. We analyzed the incidence of neurological manifestations and the influence of comorbidities and metabolic syndrome on stroke incidence in COVID-19 patients. We analyzed hospital length of stay and mortality in patients with and without neurological manifestations. The research was conducted with respect to all the determinants of the Helsinki Declaration.

Results: 572 patients, 351 men (61.4%), and 221 women (38.6%) were included. A fatal outcome was present in a quarter of patients (25.3%). Neurological manifestations were found in 163 patients (28.5%). Myalgia was the most common (16.1%). The following were reported: headache (9.6%), loss of taste (7.34%), loss of smell (6.8%), and vertigo (2.5%). There was a significant difference regarding loss of smell between males and females (p=0.04). The cerebrovascular incident was present in 2.97% of patients and was more frequent in the group of patients with metabolic syndrome. Patients with neurological manifestations had a longer hospital stay, but it was not statistically significant (p=0.9319). The presence of neurological manifestations in general did not influence the mortality rate.

Conclusion: Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection can present with neurologic findings such as myalgia, headache, loss of smell or taste, vertigo, as well as cerebrovascular incidents. Patients with neurological manifestations had longer hospital stays, but the presence of neurological manifestations in general did not influence the mortality rate.

Keywords: cerebrovascular incident; comorbidities and covid-19; loss of smell; loss of taste; neurological manifestations; sars-cov-2 infection.