COVID-19 and Nervous System: underestimated clinical and prognostic aspects

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic transformed the world abruptly due to the speed of transmission and high morbidity and mortality. Many deaths have been quantified, and the scientific community intensifies the search for molecular targets, protein sequences and polymorphisms on SARS-CoV-2, to improve the clinical evolution and survival of patients. Initially, COVID-19 was described with respiratory changes, flu, and fever. With the spread of the disease, clinical manifestations were observed in other organ systems, still unknown. In this sense, the present study describes the main neurological changes and laboratory findings. The literature review was identified in the central databases: Scielo, Google Scholar, PubMed / MedLine, Embase, and Cochrane Database. Twenty-five articles related to the theme were chosen, including reviews, case series, cohort, and retrospective studies. Neurological manifestations were predominantly anosmia/hyposmia, dysgeusia, ataxia, and seizures. According to the latest published studies, attention must be paid to isolated initial neurological events.