Three-month outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Savarraj, J. P.; Burkett, A. B.; Hinds, S. N.; Paz, A. S.; Assing, A. R.; Juneja, S.; Colpo, G. D.; Torres, L. F.; Gusdon, A. M.; McCullough, L.; Choi, H. A.

To date over 36 million people have been infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While the vast majority will survive, many may be left with residual effects. Acute neurologic symptoms including encephalitis, acute myopathic quadriplegia, strokes and seizures have been reported in COVID-19.1 Anecdotally, even survivors without acute neurologic conditions have reported long-term neurologic symptoms months after their illness. These reports have called for the importance of studying long-term neurologic outcomes, also referred as the 'Long-Haul COVID'.2 During previous epidemics, including SARS and MERS, both short- and long-term neurological symptoms were reported3 but the chronic neurological symptoms of COVID-19 are unknown. To characterize long-term neurologic outcomes after COVID-19 we followed a cohort of hospitalized patients and assessed 3-months outcomes.