Multinational Prevalence of Neurological Phenotypes in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

  1. Trang T. Le
  2. Alba Gutiérrez-Sacristán
  3. Jiyeon Son
  4. Chuan Hong
  5. Andrew M. South
  6. Brett K. Beaulieu-Jones
  7. Ne Hooi Will Loh
  8. Yuan Luo
  9. Michele Morris
  10. Kee Yuan Ngiam
  11. Lav P. Patel
  12. Malarkodi J. Samayamuthu
  13. Emily Schriver
  14. Amelia LM Tan
  15. Jason Moore
  16. Tianxi Cai
  17. Gilbert S. Omenn
  18. Paul Avillach
  19. Isaac S. Kohane
  20. 4CE Consortium
  21. Shyam Visweswaran
  22. Danielle L. Mowery
  23. Zongqi Xia
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Neurological complications can worsen outcomes in COVID-19. We defined the prevalence of a wide range of neurological conditions among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in geographically diverse multinational populations.

METHODS

Using electronic health record (EHR) data from 348 participating hospitals across 6 countries and 3 continents between January and September 2020, we performed a cross-sectional study of hospitalized adult and pediatric patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test, both with and without severe COVID-19. We assessed the frequency of each disease category and 3-character International Classification of Disease (ICD) code of neurological diseases by countries, sites, time before and after admission for COVID-19, and COVID-19 severity.

RESULTS

Among the 35,177 hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, there was increased prevalence of disorders of consciousness (5.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.7%-7.8%,pFDR<.001) and unspecified disorders of the brain (8.1%, 95%CI: 5.7%-10.5%,pFDR<.001), compared to pre-admission prevalence. During hospitalization, patients who experienced severe COVID-19 status had 22% (95%CI: 19%-25%) increase in the relative risk (RR) of disorders of consciousness, 24% (95%CI: 13%-35%) increase in other cerebrovascular diseases, 34% (95%CI: 20%-50%) increase in nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage, 37% (95%CI: 17%-60%) increase in encephalitis and/or myelitis, and 72% (95%CI: 67%-77%) increase in myopathy compared to those who never experienced severe disease.

INTERPRETATION

Using an international network and common EHR data elements, we highlight an increase in the prevalence of central and peripheral neurological phenotypes in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly among those with severe disease.

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