Scoping review of prevalence of neurologic comorbidities in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Herman, Collin; Mayer, Kirby; Sarwal, Aarti

OBJECTIVE The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents a challenge for neurologists caring for patients with preexisting neurologic conditions hospitalized for COVID-19 or for evaluation of patients who suffer neurologic complications during COVID-19 infection. We conducted a scoping review of available literature on COVID-19 to assess the potential impact on neurologists in terms of prevalent comorbidities and incidence of new neurologic events in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. METHODS We searched Medline/PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCO), and SCOPUS databases for adult patients with preexisting neurologic disease that were diagnosed and hospitalized for COVID-19, or reported incidence of secondary neurologic events following diagnosis of COVID-19. Pooled descriptive statistics of clinical data and comorbidities were examined. RESULTS Among screened articles, 322 of 4,014 (8.0%) of hospitalized patients diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 had a preexisting neurologic illness. Four retrospective studies demonstrated an increased risk of secondary neurologic complications in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (incidence of 6%, 20% and 36.4%, respectively). Inconsistent reporting and limited statistical analysis among these studies did not allow for assessment of comparative outcomes. CONCLUSION Emerging literature suggests a daunting clinical relationship between COVID-19 and neurologic illness. Neurologists need to be prepared to reorganize their consultative practices to serve the neurologic needs of patients during this pandemic.