COVID-19 Pandemic: A Neurological Perspective

Lahiri, Durjoy; Ardila, Alfredo

Even though severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been observed to principally affect the respiratory system, neurological involvements have already been reported in some published work. We have reviewed original articles, case reports, and existing open-source data-sets to delineate the spectrum of neurological disorders potentially observed in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases. Neurological involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) corresponds to three situations: (a) neurological manifestations of viral infection, (b) post-infective neurological complications, and (c) infection in patients with neurological co-morbidity. Neurological manifestations can further be subdivided into the central nervous system (headache, dizziness, alteration of the sensorium, ataxia encephalitis, stroke, and seizures) and peripheral nervous system (skeletal muscle injury and peripheral nerve involvement including hyposmia and hypogeusia) symptomatology. Post-infective neurological complications include demyelinating conditions. Reduced mobility and dementia as co-morbidities may predispose a patient to have a viral infection. It is concluded that the pandemic of COVID-19 presents for a neurologist some unique challenges. We observe that SARS-CoV-2 may have various neurological manifestations and in many cases, neurological features may precede typical respiratory symptoms.