Neurology

This is a new literature review updated on may 2022. In case some essential information is missing, please contact us at: : rafael@hcuge.ch

Persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis 

Badenoch JB, Rengasamy ER, Watson C, Jansen K, Chakraborty S, Sundaram RD, Hafeez D, Burchill E, Saini A, Thomas L, Cross B, Hunt CK, Conti I, Ralovska S, Hussain Z, Butler M, Pollak TA, Koychev I, Michael BD, Holling H, Nicholson TR, Rogers JP, Rooney AG. Brain Commun. 2021 Dec 17;4(1):fcab297. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab297. PMID: 35169700; PMCID: PMC8833580.

In this systematic review of persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after COVID-19, authors included 51 studies (n = 18 917 patients). The mean duration of follow-up after COVID-19 was 77 days (range 14-182 days). Study quality was most commonly moderate. The most prevalent neuropsychiatric symptom was sleep disturbance [pooled prevalence = 27.4% (95% confidence interval 21.4-34.4%)], followed by fatigue [24.4% (17.5-32.9%)], objective cognitive impairment [20.2% (10.3-35.7%)], anxiety [19.1% (13.3-26.8%)] and post-traumatic stress [15.7% (9.9-24.1%)]. Only two studies reported symptoms in control groups, both reporting higher frequencies in COVID-19 survivors versus controls. Between-study heterogeneity was high (I 2 = 79.6-98.6%). There was little or no evidence of differential symptom prevalence based on hospitalization status, severity or follow-up duration. 

Link to study : Persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis