Mononeuritis multiplex: an unexpectedly common feature of severe COVID-19

The prolonged mechanical ventilation required by patients with severe COVID-19 is expected to result in significant Intensive Care Unit – Acquired Weakness (ICUAW) in many of the survivors. However, in our post-COVID-19 follow up clinic we have found that, as well as the anticipated global weakness related to loss of muscle mass, a significant proportion of these patients also have disabling focal neurological deficits relating to an axonal mononeuritis multiplex. Amongst the 69 patients with severe COVID-19 that have been discharged from the intensive care units in our hospital, we have seen 11 individuals (16%) with such neuropathies. In many instances, the multi-focal nature of the weakness in these patients was initially unrecognised as symptoms were wrongly assumed to simply relate to “critical illness neuropathy”. While mononeuropathy is well recognised as an occasional complication of intensive care, our experience suggests that such deficits are common and frequently disabling in patients recovering from COVID-19.