학술논문

Long-term outcomes of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 with and without neurological involvement: 3-year follow-up assessment.
Document Type
Article
Source
PLoS Medicine. 4/4/2024, Vol. 21 Issue 4, p1-22. 22p.
Subject
*SARS-CoV-2
*EPILEPSY
*COVID-19 pandemic
*COVID-19
*CORONAVIRUS diseases
*HOSPITAL patients
*MAJOR adverse cardiovascular events
Language
ISSN
1549-1277
Abstract
Background: Acute neurological manifestation is a common complication of acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease. This retrospective cohort study investigated the 3-year outcomes of patients with and without significant neurological manifestations during initial COVID-19 hospitalization. Methods and findings: Patients hospitalized for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection between 03/01/2020 and 4/16/2020 in the Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, an epicenter of the early pandemic, were included. Follow-up data was captured up to 01/23/2023 (3 years post-COVID-19). This cohort consisted of 414 patients with COVID-19 with significant neurological manifestations and 1,199 propensity-matched patients (for age and COVID-19 severity score) with COVID-19 without neurological manifestations. Neurological involvement during the acute phase included acute stroke, new or recrudescent seizures, anatomic brain lesions, presence of altered mentation with evidence for impaired cognition or arousal, and neuro-COVID-19 complex (headache, anosmia, ageusia, chemesthesis, vertigo, presyncope, paresthesias, cranial nerve abnormalities, ataxia, dysautonomia, and skeletal muscle injury with normal orientation and arousal signs). There were no significant group differences in female sex composition (44.93% versus 48.21%, p = 0.249), ICU and IMV status, white, not Hispanic (6.52% versus 7.84%, p = 0.380), and Hispanic (33.57% versus 38.20%, p = 0.093), except black non-Hispanic (42.51% versus 36.03%, p = 0.019). Primary outcomes were mortality, stroke, heart attack, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), reinfection, and hospital readmission post-discharge. Secondary outcomes were neuroimaging findings (hemorrhage, active and prior stroke, mass effect, microhemorrhages, white matter changes, microvascular disease (MVD), and volume loss). More patients in the neurological cohort were discharged to acute rehabilitation (10.39% versus 3.34%, p < 0.001) or skilled nursing facilities (35.75% versus 25.35%, p < 0.001) and fewer to home (50.24% versus 66.64%, p < 0.001) than matched controls. Incidence of readmission for any reason (65.70% versus 60.72%, p = 0.036), stroke (6.28% versus 2.34%, p < 0.001), and MACE (20.53% versus 16.51%, p = 0.032) was higher in the neurological cohort post-discharge. Per Kaplan–Meier univariate survival curve analysis, such patients in the neurological cohort were more likely to die post-discharge compared to controls (hazard ratio: 2.346, (95% confidence interval (CI) [1.586, 3.470]; p < 0.001)). Across both cohorts, the major causes of death post-discharge were heart disease (13.79% neurological, 15.38% control), sepsis (8.63%, 17.58%), influenza and pneumonia (13.79%, 9.89%), COVID-19 (10.34%, 7.69%), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (10.34%, 6.59%). Factors associated with mortality after leaving the hospital involved the neurological cohort (odds ratio (OR): 1.802 (95% CI [1.237, 2.608]; p = 0.002)), discharge disposition (OR: 1.508 (95% CI [1.276, 1.775]; p < 0.001)), congestive heart failure (OR: 2.281 (95% CI [1.429, 3.593]; p < 0.001)), higher COVID-19 severity score (OR: 1.177 (95% CI [1.062, 1.304]; p = 0.002)), and older age (OR: 1.027 (95% CI [1.010, 1.044]; p = 0.002)). There were no group differences in radiological findings, except that the neurological cohort showed significantly more age-adjusted brain volume loss (p = 0.045) than controls. The study's patient cohort was limited to patients infected with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, when hospitals were overburdened, vaccines were not yet available, and treatments were limited. Patient profiles might differ when interrogating subsequent waves. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 with neurological manifestations had worse long-term outcomes compared to matched controls. These findings raise awareness and the need for closer monitoring and timely interventions for patients with COVID-19 with neurological manifestations, as their disease course involving initial neurological manifestations is associated with enhanced morbidity and mortality. Tim Q Duong and colleagues investigate the 3-year outcomes of patients with and without significant neurological manifestations during initial COVID-19 hospitalization. Author summary: Why was this study done?: Neurological symptoms are present in both acute and long-term manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with acute neurological syndromes during COVID-19 hospitalization are known to have higher short-term mortality rates. Although acute outcomes of patients with COVID-19 and neurological manifestations are understood, the long-term sequelae of COVID-19 survivors who suffered acute neurological manifestations are unknown. What did the researchers do and find?: We used 2 cohorts, a neurological group and control group (propensity-matched) both of which were hospitalized for COVID-19, to evaluate long-term outcomes after discharge, up to 3 years later. A Kaplan–Meier survival analysis curve was built to analyze the different time-to-death in neurological and control cohorts, revealing that patients in the neurological cohort have shorter time-to-death than patients in the control cohort. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) studies were scored by radiologists and compared between neurological and control groups, although few group differences in structural abnormalities were observed. What do these findings mean?: Patients who suffer from neurological manifestations during COVID-19 hospitalization have worse long-term outcomes than controls. Patients who experienced neurological symptoms during acute COVID-19 infection need to be closely monitored at subsequent follow-up. This study came from a single health system with limited sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]