Neurological symptoms of COVID-19 infection; a cross-sectional study on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Iran

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a global issue now, can have a variety of clinical manifestations. Hundreds of articles have discussed different aspects of this infectious disease, such as physiopathology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations and treatment protocols. Recently, neurological manifestations of the disease have been found to be pretty common among COVID-19 patients. Here, neurological symptoms of COVID-19 infection with a focus on non-cerebrovascular complications are discussed in a large study population. Methods: Neurological symptoms of 891hospitalized COVID-19 patients from March to June 2020 in a major Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were reviewed. Demographic characteristics and neurological manifestations were analyzed. Results: Among 891 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the following symptoms were observed: headache (63.9%), sleeping problems (51.3%), hyposmia/anosmia (46%), dizziness (45.4%), hypogeusia (42.1%), memory issues (31.5%), auditory disturbances (17.5%), paralysis (3.7%) and seizures (1.7%). In 29.7% of the patients, a neurological symptom was the initiating symptoms of the infection. Females were more likely to show headache and dizziness compared to males (p value<0.05). Headache intensity was also higher in females compared to males (p value<0.05). Headache prevalence was lower in older patients (p value<0.05), while memory loss and impaired consciousness were higher by increasing age (p values=0.002 and 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Neurological manifestations were common among COVID-19 patients under study. Headache, as the most common neurological symptom among COVID-19 patients, was the most prevalent and intense among the female population. Headache, dizziness, sleeping problems, hyposmia/anosmia and hypogeusia were common COVID-19 neurological manifestations, while memory issues, auditory disturbances, paralysis, and seizures were less common.