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Review
. 2021;57(1):122.
doi: 10.1186/s41983-021-00379-0. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

Neurological sequelae of COVID-19: a review

Christopher J Peterson  1 , Ashish Sarangi  2 , Fariha Bangash  3
Affiliations
Review

Neurological sequelae of COVID-19: a review

Christopher J Peterson et al. Egypt J Neurol Psychiatr Neurosurg. 2021.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a myriad of challenges, including identifying and treating neurological sequelae.

Main body: COVID-19 can cause olfactory and respiratory dysfunction with average recovery within 1 month and a minority of patients experiencing symptoms at 8-month follow-up. Headaches are also very common (up to 93%) amongst patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms. COVID-19 illness may also affect cognition, although results are mixed.

Conclusion: While many studies have focused on acute COVID-19 symptoms, more longitudinal studies will need to assess the neurological sequelae of the disease. Furthermore, care must be taken when attributing sequelae to COVID-19 illness and not an unrelated cause. Finally, there is concern that COVID-19 may be associated with secondary illnesses, such as Guillain-Barre, and may even contribute to the development of diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Keywords: COVID-19; Long term; Neurological; SARS-CoV-2; Sequelae.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors report no competing interests.

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