With the initial stages of the COVID-19 vaccine rolling out across the United States, hope is on the horizon! According to the CDC, close to 9 million Americans have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of January 11th, 2021.
While there is a light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel, I am still confronted with neurological complications in my patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. With over 300 million people in the United States, we still have a lot of work to do in 2021 to distribute vaccines and prevent the spread of disease.
In this JAMA Neurology review, my colleagues and I discuss how SARS-CoV-2 can affect the brain, spinal cord and nerves and some of the ways patients with COVID-19 may present to their doctor.
As a take-home point, it’s important to note that neurological symptoms are very common after COVID-19 — a systemic study found that 84% of COVID-19 patients had neurological signs including confusion, encephalopathy, and corticospinal tract signs on examination, as well as leptomeningeal enhancement and perfusion abnormalities on MRI scans. Of all neurological symptoms, the most common symptoms are:
- Headache
- Loss of smell
- Loss of taste
Other less common neurological findings that we reported include:
- stroke
- impairement of consciousness
- coma
- seizure
- encephalopathy
As always, stay healthy! – Dr. K