Brain MRI in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia patients with newly developed neurological manifestations suggestive of brain involvement

The increased frequency of neurological manifestations, including central nervous system (CNS) manifestations, in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is consistent with the virus's neurotropic nature. In most patients, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a sensitive imaging modality in the diagnosis of viral encephalitides in the brain. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of brain lesion patterns on brain MRI in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia patients who developed focal and non-focal neurological manifestations. In addition, it will compare the impact of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) as an index of deteriorating cerebral function on positive brain MRIs in both neurological manifestations. This retrospective study included an examination of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia patients with real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmation, admitted with clinicoradiologic evidence of COVID-19 pneumonia, and who were candidates for brain MRI due to neurological manifestations suggesting brain involvement. Brain imaging acquired on a 3.0 T MRI system (Skyra; Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) with a 20-channel receive head coil. Brain MRI revealed lesions in 38 (82.6%) of the total 46 patients for analysis and was negative in the remaining eight (17.4%) of all finally enclosed patients with RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. Twenty-nine (63%) patients had focal neurological manifestations, while the remaining 17 (37%) patients had non-focal neurological manifestations. The patients had a highly significant difference (p = 0.0006) in GCS, but no significant difference (p = 0.4) in the number of comorbidities they had. Brain MRI is a feasible and important imaging modality in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who develop neurological manifestations suggestive of brain involvement, particularly in patients with non-focal manifestations and a decline in GCS.