Data from: Neurological and neuroimaging findings in COVID-19 patients: a retrospective multicenter study

Objective To describe neuroimaging findings and to report the
epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with
neurological manifestations. Methods In this retrospective multicenter
study (10 Hospitals), we included 64 confirmed COVID-19 patients with
neurologic manifestations who underwent a brain MRI. Results The cohort
included 43 men (67%), 21 women (33%), and the median age was 66 years
(range: 20-92). 36 (56%) brain MRIs were considered abnormal, possibly
related to SARS-CoV-2. Ischemic strokes (27%), leptomeningeal enhancements
(17%), and encephalitis (13%) were the most frequent neuroimaging
findings. Confusion (53%) was the most common neurological manifestation,
following by impaired consciousness (39%), presence of clinical signs of
corticospinal tract involvement (31%), agitation (31%), and headache
(16%). The profile of patients experiencing ischemic stroke was different
from the other patients with abnormal brain imaging since the former had
less frequently acute respiratory distress syndrome (p=0·006) and more
frequently corticospinal tract signs (p=0·02). Patients with encephalitis
were younger (p=0·007), whereas agitation was more frequent for patients
with leptomeningeal enhancements (p=0·009). Conclusions COVID-19 patients
may develop a wide range of neurological symptoms, which can be associated
with severe and fatal complications, such as ischemic stroke or
encephalitis. Concerning the meningoencephalitis involvement, even if a
direct effect of the virus cannot be excluded, the pathophysiology rather
seems to involve an immune and/or inflammatory process given the presence
of signs of inflammation in both cerebrospinal fluid and neuroimaging but
the lack of virus in cerebrospinal fluid.