Neurological problems in the context of COVID-19 infection in Egypt. A multicenter retrospective analysis

Azab, Mohammed A.; Azzam, Ahmed Y.; Salem, Ahmed E.; Reda, Ahmed; Hassanein, Sherif F.; Sabra, Mohamed; Gadelmoula, Islam S.

BACKGROUND: COVID–19 infection has spread so fast in both low– and high–income countries. In December 2019, an outbreak of a respiratory disease occurred in China, and later, it involved different countries. Acute neurological insults are more likely to occur in severely infected patients. METHODS: We tried to evaluate patients with selective criteria including, the age of participants 18 and older with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, and developed neurological complications post COVID-19 infection. An overall data of 1500 patients were collected from neurological and primary health care departments. About 970 of them had neurological problems. Patients-related data were gathered and assembled from the patients’ records at participating hospitals from the Ministry of Health and university hospitals. RESULTS: We presented the results according to several variables including, regional distribution, reasons of presentation, neurological complications, follow-ups, and survival outcome. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, we conducted the first retrospective analysis for neurological problems related to COVID-19 infection in Egypt. COVID-19 patients present with a variety of central and peripheral neurological symptoms, the pathogenic mechanisms of which have not been explained. Robust investigations of the neurological presentations of COVID-19 infection should be recruited for better understanding of the possible association. Moreover, further explaining the pathophysiologic mechanisms will help in designing proper treatment plans.