First Australian Case of Good Recovery of a COVID-19 Patient With Severe Neurological Symptoms Post Prolonged Hospitalization

Associations of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, monocyte/ lymphocyte ratio, and platelet/lymphocyte ratio with COVID-19 disease severity in patients with neurological symptoms: A cross-sectional monocentric study

Objectives

Data are limited regarding the relationship of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet/ lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with neurological symptoms (NS) in COVID-19 patients. This study is the first to assess the utility of the NLR, MLR, and PLR for predicting COVID-19 severity in infected patients with NS.

Materials and Methods

Consecutive 192 PCR-positive COVID-19 patients with NS were included in this cross-sectional and prospective study. The patients were classified into the non-severe and severe groups. We analyzed routinely complete blood count in these groups in terms of COVID-19 disease severity.

Results

Advanced age, a higher body mass index, and comorbidities were significantly more common in the severe group (P < 0.001). Among the NS, anosmia (P = 0.001) and memory loss (P = 0.041) were significantly more common in the non-severe group. In the severe group, the lymphocytes and monocyte counts and the hemoglobin level were significantly lower, while the neutrophil count, NLR, and PLR were significantly higher (all P < 0.001). In the multivariate model, advanced age and a higher neutrophil count were independently associated with severe disease (both P < 0.001) but the NLR and PLR were not (both P > 0.05).

Conclusion

We found positive associations of COVID-19 severity with the NLR and PLR in infected patients with NS. Further research is required to shed more light on the role of neurological involvement in disease prognosis and outcomes.

Persistent neurological manifestations in long COVID-19 syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Several studies have reported prolonged symptoms especially neurological symptoms following acute infection in patients with COVID-19, known as long COVID-19. There are only few studies investigating this population and relatively less known, including nervous system involvement. A systematic review and meta-analysis of these studies are required to understanding the prevalence of persistent neurological manifestations after COVID-19.

Objective

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the persistent neurological manifestations in COVID-19 survivors.

Methods

Authors conducted a literature search through PubMed and MedRxiv from January 1st, 2020 to October 2021 according to PRISMA guideline. Furthermore, the authors added additional sources by reviewing related references. Studies presenting the neurologic features of long COVID-19 patients in their data were included. Case reports and case series also included in this review. The quality of the studies was assessed based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines. Selected studies were included in the meta-analysis of proportion and heterogeneity test.

Findings

From 128 identified studies, 36 were eligible, with 9944 participants included. Most of the included studies had mean duration of follow-up after COVID-19 onset of less than 6 months. Fatigue was the most common (52.8%, 95%CI 19.9 – 84.4) symptoms of long COVID, followed by cognitive disorder (35.4%, 95%CI 2.1 – 81.7); paresthesia (33.3%, 95%CI 2.7 – 76.6); sleep disorder (32.9%, 95%CI 6.5 – 67.4); musculoskeletal pain (27.8%, 95%CI 12.7 – 46); and dizziness (26.4%, 95%CI 4.6 – 57.9).

Conclusion

Neurological manifestations are prevalent and persisting in patients with long COVID. The duration of the symptoms are vary among literatures. However, the frequency are mostly observed during the first six months after the illness onset.

The AIFELL Score as a Predictor of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Severity and Progression in Hospitalized Patients

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global burden for health care systems due to high morbidity and mortality rates, leading to caseloads that episodically surpass hospital resources. Due to different disease manifestations, the triage of patients at high risk for a poor outcome continues to be a major challenge for clinicians. The AIFELL score was developed as a simple decision instrument for emergency rooms to distinguish COVID-19 patients in severe disease stages from less severe COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the AIFELL score as a prediction tool for clinical deterioration and disease severity in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland, we analyzed consecutively hospitalized patients at the Triemli Hospital Zurich from the end of November 2020 until mid-February 2021. Statistical analyses were performed for group comparisons and to evaluate significance. AIFELL scores of patients developing severe COVID-19 stages IIb and III during hospitalization were significantly higher upon admission compared to those patients not surpassing stages I and IIa. Group comparisons indicated significantly different AIFELL scores between each stage. In conclusion, the AIFELL score at admission was useful to predict the disease severity and progression in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Frailty in Stroke-A Narrated Review

This narrative review provides a summary introduction to the relationship between stroke and physical and cognitive frailty syndromes and the neuro-inflammatory similarities (including inflammaging) between the two. The review argues the potential effects of Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome (PCNS, also known as Long COVID) with similar pathophysiology. Many patients who have suffered from acute stroke experience long-lasting symptoms affecting several organs including fatigue, brain fog, reduced physical activity, loss of energy, and loss of cognitive reserve, culminating in the loss of independence and poor quality of life. This is very similar to the emerging reports of PCNS from different parts of the world. Stroke, particularly in older adults with comorbidities appears to impact the health and welfare of patients by reducing central neuronal input and neuromuscular function, with muscular atrophy and neuropsychiatric complications. The cumulative effects can potentially lead to a range of physical and cognitive frailty syndromes, which, in many cases may be attributed to persistent, maladapted, low grade, chronic inflammation. Meanwhile, post-COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome (also known as Long COVID Syndrome) appears to share a similar trajectory, adding further urgency for investigations into the mechanisms underlying this constellation of symptoms.

Neurological Complications of COVID-19: Underlying Mechanisms and Management

COVID-19 is a severe respiratory disease caused by the newly identified human coronavirus (HCoV) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was discovered in December 2019, and in March 2020, the disease was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to a high number of cases. Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily affects the respiratory system, several studies have reported neurological complications in COVID-19 patients. Headache, dizziness, loss of taste and smell, encephalitis, encephalopathy, and cerebrovascular diseases are the most common neurological complications that are associated with COVID-19. In addition, seizures, neuromuscular junctions' disorders, and Guillain-Barré syndrome were reported as complications of COVID-19, as well as neurodegenerative and demyelinating disorders. However, the management of these conditions remains a challenge. In this review, we discuss the prevalence, pathogenesis, and mechanisms of these neurological sequelae that are secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aim to update neurologists and healthcare workers on the possible neurological complications associated with COVID-19 and the management of these disease conditions.

COVID-19 and stroke: from the cases to the causes

During COVID-19 pandemic, a wide variety of stroke typologies have been described in patients affected by SARS-CoV-2. Investigating the case reports of acute stroke in COVID-19 patients, published since the beginning of the pandemic, we tried to trace the pathogenic mechanisms of stroke during SARS-CoV-2 infection. We conducted a systematic review analyzing demographic data, cerebrovascular risk factors, NIHSS score, vascular territory involvement and laboratory findings of 168 patients described in 89 studies, from a pool of 1243 records. Based on our results, we have identified different stroke profiles: (1) cerebral large vessel disease (CLVD) profile with a low disability, simultaneous onset of COVID-19 and stroke symptoms, good outcome and low serum levels of D-dimer and CRP; (2) intracranial bleeding (IB) profile with high disability, poor outcome and low levels of serum markers of inflammation and coagulopathy; (3) CLVD profile with a short time-lapse between COVID-19 symptoms and stroke onset, high neurological disability and very high systemic inflammatory markers; (4) multiple thrombo-embolic disease (MTED) profile with older patients, many comorbidities, disabling stroke, poor outcome, evident alteration of coagulation tests and high serum levels of both D-dimer and CRP. We therefore summarized these different profiles in a spectrum similar to that of visible light, where the violet-blue band included IB and CSVD with low inflammation and prothrombotic activity, the green-yellow band included CLVD with high inflammation and moderate prothrombotic activity and the orange-red band for MTED with moderate-high levels of inflammation and very high prothrombotic activity.

COVID-19 Pathophysiology Predicts That Ischemic Stroke Occurrence Is an Expectation, Not an Exception-A Systematic Review

Clinical reports of neurological manifestations associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as acute ischemic stroke (AIS), encephalopathy, seizures, headaches, acute necrotizing encephalitis, cerebral microbleeds, posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, peripheral neuropathy, cranial nerve palsies, transverse myelitis, and demyelinating disorders, are increasing rapidly. However, there are comparatively few studies investigating the potential impact of immunological responses secondary to hypoxia, oxidative stress, and excessive platelet-induced aggregation on the brain. This scoping review has focused on the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with peripheral and consequential neural (central) inflammation leading to COVID-19-related ischemic strokes. It also highlights the common biological processes shared between AIS and COVID-19 infection and the importance of the recognition that severe respiratory dysfunction and neurological impairments associated with COVID and chronic inflammation [post-COVID-19 neurological syndrome (PCNS)] may significantly impact recovery and ability to benefit from neurorehabilitation. This study provides a comprehensive review of the pathobiology of COVID-19 and ischemic stroke. It also affirms that the immunological contribution to the pathophysiology of COVID-19 is predictive of the neurological sequelae particularly ischemic stroke, which makes it the expectation rather than the exception. This work is of fundamental significance to the neurorehabilitation community given the increasing number of COVID-related ischemic strokes, the current limited knowledge regarding the risk of reinfection, and recent reports of a PCNS. It further highlights the need for global collaboration and research into new pathobiology-based neurorehabilitation treatment strategies and more integrated evidence-based care.