"Neurological manifestations of COVID-19" - guideline of the German society of neurology

Abstract

Infection with the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) leads to a previously unknown clinical picture, which is known as COVID-19 (COrona VIrus Disease-2019) and was first described in the Hubei region of China. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has implications for all areas of medicine. It directly and indirectly affects the care of neurological diseases. SARS-CoV-2 infection may be associated with an increased incidence of neurological manifestations such as encephalopathy and encephalomyelitis, ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, anosmia and neuromuscular diseases. In October 2020, the German Society of Neurology (DGN, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurologie) published the first guideline on the neurological manifestations of the new infection. This S1 guideline provides guidance for the care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection regarding neurological manifestations, patients with neurological disease with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection, and for the protection of healthcare workers. This is an abbreviated version of the guideline issued by the German Neurological society and published in the Guideline repository of the AWMF (Working Group of Scientific Medical Societies; Arbeitsgemeinschaft wissenschaftlicher Medizinischer Fachgesellschaften).

Keywords: Anosmia; COVID-19; Critical illness neuropathy/myopathy; Critical illness weakness; Delirium; ECMO; Encephalitis; Encephalomyelitis; Encephalopathy; Epileptic seizures; Guillain-Barré syndrome; Hyposmia; Intensive care unit acquired weakness; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Intracranial hemorrhage; Meningoencephalitis; Miller Fisher syndrome; Myasthenia gravis; Myelitis; Myositis; Neuromuscular diseases; SARS-CoV-2; Seizure recurrence; Status epilepticus; Stroke; Ventilation.