More than 80 percent of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine this spring had neurological symptoms, according to a study published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
Researchers analyzed the neurological symptoms of 509 consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to 10 Northwestern hospitals between March 5 and April 6.
Five study findings:
1. Overall, 82.3 percent of patients had neurological symptoms.
2. About 42 percent of patients had neurologic symptoms at COVID-19 onset, and 62 percent had symptoms during their hospitalization.
3. The most frequent neurological symptoms were:
- myalgias (muscle aches): 44.8 percent
- headaches: 37.7 percent
- encephalopathy (a general term describing damage or disease to the brain): 31.8 percent
- dizziness: 29.7 percent
- impaired taste: 15.9 percent
- loss of smell: 11.4 percent
4. While younger patients and those with severe COVID-19 were more likely to develop neurological symptoms overall, older patients were more likely to develop encephalopathy.
5. Encephalopathy also was linked to a three times longer hospital stay for COVID-19 patients and a roughly seven times higher risk of death within 30 days of hospitalization.
View the full study here.