In this paper, recently published in the Journal of Neurology, the authors report neurological manifestations in 404 consecutive patients with COVID-19 seen in outpatient clinics and hospitalised between February 20, 2020 and May 4, 2020 at Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, Washington, USA. All patients had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Only new onset neurological manifestations were included. In particular, 208 of 404 (51.5%) patients presented with Central Nervous System (CNS) symptoms. The most prevalent CNS symptoms were altered mental status (86, 21.3%), headache (82, 20.3%), and dizziness (31, 7.7%). Of the 86 patients with altered metal status, 49 (57.0%) had pre-existing dementia. Out of 404 patients, 163 (40.3%) presented with Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) symptoms. The most prevalent PNS symptoms were myalgia (131, 32.4%) and impairment of taste (27, 6.7%) and smell (18, 4.5%). Acute neurological manifestations were seen in 99 of 404 (24.5%) COVID-19 patients with altered mental status seen in 86 (21.3%), critical illness myopathy in 8 (2.0%), stroke including one haemorrhagic stroke in 3 (0.7%), and seizures in 2 (0.5%). Six patients had multiple acute neurological manifestations.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-020-10087-z