Neurological Complications Associated with COVID-19 Virus [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neurological Complications Associated with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Virus: MRI and CT Features
IRAS ID
284317
Contact name
Neven Hazzaa (also send to nevenhazzaa@gmail.com)
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
R&I Manager, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 9 days
Research summary
Background\nSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoronaVirus (CoV)-2 (SARS-CoV-2) or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel RNA virus, which is a strain of Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) belonging to the Coronavirus family. COVID-19 caused an unknown pneumonia disease outbreak originating from a local seafood market in Wuhan, China, that was probably arose from an animal source. COVID-19 caused a large-scale pandemic and it has now spread significantly to affect all of the world. The classic symptoms of COVID-19 can vary from mild to severe respiratory disease. Neurological symptoms and radiological findings have been reported, notably in severely affected COVID-19 patients. Recently, we observed 11 cases who presented with neurologic symptoms and varying brain injury on MRI associated with COVID-19 virus infection.\n\nAim of the work\nTo document neurological complication of COVID-19\n\nMethods\nThe imaging data for 11 confirmed COVID-19 patients referred to the radiology department will be retrospectively collected from the patients’ medical record at our institution at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals (BHRUH) NHS Trust. MRI brain images stored in PACS/RIS will be reviewed against the stored RIS reports and analysed to be correlated with the electronic cyberlab results and the patient’s medical records. \n\nResults\n11 confirmed COVID-19 patients presented with severe neurologic symptoms including altered level of consciousness ranging from confusion to coma, ataxia, and focal neurological deficit. The patients will be classified according to the clinical course into 2 groups on the basis of the severity of critical illness necessitating admission to intensive care units and mechanical ventilation therapy (Group-A) or not (Group-B). Brain MRI revealed striking changes ranging from cerebrovascular embolism with the resultant territorial acute infarcts in group-B, to non- territorial widespread white matter lesions in group-A.\nConclusion\nCNS involvement should be considered in patients with COVID-19, and further elucidation of the CNS pathophysiology of this virus is needed.\n
REC name
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REC reference
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