Global Incidence of Neurological Manifestations Among Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 – A Report for the GCS-NeuroCOVID Consortium and the ENERGY Consortium

May 11, 2021

Sherry H.-Y. Chou, MD, MSc1,2; Ettore Beghi, MD3; Raimund Helbok, MD4; Elena Moro, MD, PhD5; Joshua Sampson, PhD6; Valeria Altamirano, MS1; Shraddha Mainali, MD7; Claudio Bassetti, MD8; Jose I. Suarez, MD9; Molly McNett, PhD10; for the GCS-NeuroCOVID Consortium and ENERGY Consortium

JAMA

This study used data from COVID-19 patients hospitalized at 28 centers, representing 13 countries and four continents, to describe and assess the incidence of neurological manifestations associated with a COVID-19 diagnosis. The study population was derived from three different cohorts: the GCS-NeuroCOVID all COVID-19 cohort (N=3055) included COVID-19 patients with and without neurological manifestations; the GCS-NeuroCOVID COVID-19 neurological cohort (N=475) included COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the US with neurological manifestations; and the ENERGY cohort (N=214) included hospitalized COVID-19 patients who received formal neurological consultation. Overall, 82% of the total study populations experienced any neurological manifestations. The most common self-reported neurological manifestation was headache, reported by 38%, 35%, and 27% of patients in these cohorts, respectively. This was followed by anosmia or ageusia which was reported by 26% of patients across all three cohorts. The most common clinically captured neurological sign was acute encephalopathy which was experienced by nearly half of all participants, followed by coma (17%), and stroke (3%). Patients with clinically captured neurological signs had dramatically higher odds for in-hospital death (aOR 5.99, 95% CI 4.33 – 8.28). Given the high incidence of neurological manifestations of COVID-19, further research is warranted to understand their mechanisms of action and long-term outcomes.

Chou SH, Beghi E, Helbok R, et al. Global Incidence of Neurological Manifestations Among Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19—A Report for the GCS-NeuroCOVID Consortium and the ENERGY Consortium. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e2112131. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.12131

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