The primary purpose of conducting this study was to assess the neurological manifestations in a series of consecutive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2‐positive patients. The results were then obtained by comparing their frequency with a population hospitalized in the same period for flu/respiratory symptoms, finally not related to SARS‐CoV‐2.

Patients presenting with flu/respiratory symptoms were admitted to the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli hospital were retrospectively enrolled. The frequency of neurological manifestations of patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was recorded. The obtained values were then compared with a control group.

Two hundred thirteen in total patients were positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 after reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on nasal or throat swabs. In contrast, 218 patients were found to be negative and were used as a control group. Regarding the central nervous system (CNS) manifestations, in SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive patients, a higher frequency of headache, hyposmia, and encephalopathy always related to systemic conditions was observed. Except for that, muscular involvement was more frequent in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

The study concluded that patients with COVID‐19 commonly have neurological manifestations, but only hyposmia and muscle involvement seem more frequent than other flu diseases.

Reference: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ene.14444

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