Long-Term Influence of Pediatric Long COVID Syndrome on Visual Perception and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

IF 2.1 3区医学 Q2 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Pediatric neurology Pub Date : 2025-08-28 DOI:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2025.08.018

Tzu-Yu Chen MS , Yen-Ju Chu MD , Chia-Jui Hsu MD , Hsin-Pei Wang MD , Lee-Chin Wong MD, PhD , Wang-Tso Lee MD, PhD

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Abstract

Background

Long COVID presents with a wide range of persistent symptoms and durations following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, data on children and adolescents remain limited. This study aims to explore visual perception and neuropsychiatric symptoms in pediatric patients and examine their associations with brain volume differences.

Methods

A total of 60 participants, aged six to 18 years and confirmed COVID-19 antibody positive, were recruited five to eight months after infection. Owing to the diversity of symptoms, each symptom was assigned a weighted score from 0 to 3 based on its severity and relevance to brain function. Participants were then divided into two groups according to symptom severity. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging, and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-Fourth Edition (TVPS-4) was administered.

Results

The most common neuropsychiatric symptoms were headache or dizziness, along with attention and memory deficits, which persisted for up to six months. Gray matter volumes were significantly increased in the group with severe symptoms, particularly in subcortical and temporal regions. These brain volume differences showed significant correlations with both acute and chronic symptoms. In the TVPS-4 assessment, significant differences were observed in overall standard scores and in the Sequential Memory subtest between participants with visual-related symptoms and healthy control subjects.

Conclusions

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, impaired visual perception, and gray matter volume differences are evident in pediatric long COVID cases. The severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms during the acute phase may predict the degree of chronic-phase brain volume alterations. Longitudinal follow-up studies are essential to validate and expand upon these findings.

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小儿长冠综合征对视知觉和神经精神症状的长期影响

背景2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）感染后，新冠肺炎表现出广泛的持续性症状和持续时间。然而，关于儿童和青少年的数据仍然有限。本研究旨在探讨儿童患者的视觉知觉和神经精神症状，并检查它们与脑容量差异的关系。方法在感染后5 ~ 8个月招募60名6 ~ 18岁的COVID-19抗体阳性受试者。由于症状的多样性，每个症状根据其严重程度和与脑功能的相关性被赋予从0到3的加权评分。然后根据症状严重程度将参与者分为两组。所有的参与者都进行了核磁共振成像，并进行了视觉感知技能测试-第四版（TVPS-4）。结果最常见的神经精神症状是头痛或头晕，并伴有注意力和记忆力减退，持续时间长达6个月。在症状严重的组中，灰质体积显著增加，特别是在皮层下和颞区。这些脑容量差异与急性和慢性症状均有显著相关性。在TVPS-4评估中，有视觉相关症状的受试者与健康对照者在总体标准得分和顺序记忆子测试中观察到显著差异。结论小儿长冠状病毒肺炎患者存在明显的神经精神症状、视觉感知受损和灰质体积差异。急性期神经精神症状的严重程度可以预测慢性期脑容量改变的程度。纵向随访研究对于验证和扩展这些发现至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Pediatric neurology 医学-临床神经学

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

2.60%

发文量

176

审稿时长

78 days

期刊介绍： Pediatric Neurology publishes timely peer-reviewed clinical and research articles covering all aspects of the developing nervous system. Pediatric Neurology features up-to-the-minute publication of the latest advances in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of pediatric neurologic disorders. The journal''s editor, E. Steve Roach, in conjunction with the team of Associate Editors, heads an internationally recognized editorial board, ensuring the most authoritative and extensive coverage of the field. Among the topics covered are: epilepsy, mitochondrial diseases, congenital malformations, chromosomopathies, peripheral neuropathies, perinatal and childhood stroke, cerebral palsy, as well as other diseases affecting the developing nervous system.