Purpose
Most SARS-CoV – 2 infected individuals never require hospitalization. However, some develop prolonged symptoms. We attempted to characterize the spectrum of neurological manifestations in non-hospitalized Covid – 19 ‘long-term carriers’.
Methods
This is a prospective study of the first 100 consecutive patients (50 SARS-CoV-2 laboratory positive and 50 laboratory negative individuals) presented between May and November 2020 in our Neuro – Covid – 19 clinic. Due to early pandemic testing restrictions, patients were included if they complied with the Infectious Diseases Society of America symptoms of Covid – 19, were never hospitalized for pneumonia or hypoxemia, and had neurological symptoms lasting more than 6 weeks. has. We recorded the frequency of neurological symptoms and reported the quality of life of patients and standardized cognitive assessments.
Results
Mean age was 43.2 ± 11.3 years, 70% were female and 48% were judged on television. The most common comorbidities were depression / anxiety (42%) and autoimmune disease (16%). The main neurological manifestations were: ‘brain fog’ (81%), headache (68%), numbness / tingling (60%), dysgeusia (59%), anosmia (55%), myalgia (55%), with only anosmia to be more frequent in SARS – CoV – 2+ as SARS – CoV – 2– patients (37/50 [74%] vs (18/50 [36%]; p <0.001). Furthermore, 85% also experienced fatigue. There was no relationship between time from the onset of the disease and the subjective impression of recovery. Both groups exhibit impaired quality of life in cognitive and fatigue areas. EARS-CoV-2+ patients performed worse in cognitive tasks with attention and working memory compared to a demographic U.S. population (T-score 41.5 [37, 48.25] en 43 [37.5, 48.75], respectively; both p <0.01).
Interpretation
Non-hospitalized Covid – 19 “long-term sufferers” experience prominent and persistent “brain fog” and fatigue that affects their cognition and quality of life.