Neurological disorders throughout acute SARS-CoV2 infection: A comparative study between vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients

Abstract

Background: The role of vaccination on Covid-19 severity in neurological patients is still unknown. We aim at describing clinical characteristics and outcomes of breakthrough and unvaccinated Covid-19 patients hospitalized for neurological disorders.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-two Covid-19 patients were admitted to a neuro-Covid Unit form March 1st 2021 to February 28th 2022. Out of the total sample, 74 (32%) were full vaccinated. The prevalence, clinical characteristics, disease severity, expressed by Brescia-COVID Respiratory Severity Scale (BCRSS) and National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2), and final outcomes of neurological syndromes were compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated cases. Cox regression analysis was implemented in order to investigate the combined effect of predictors of mortality.

Results: Breakthrough vaccinated cases were older (years 72.4 ± 16.3 vs 67.0 ± 18.9 years, p = 0.029), showed higher pre-admission comorbidity score and Clinical Frailty scale score (4.46 ± 1.6 vs 3.75 ± 2.0, p = 0.008) with no differences in terms of disease progression or mortality rate (16.2% vs 15.2%), compared to full-dose vaccinated patients. Cox-regression analysis showed age and NEWS2 score as the variables with a significant relation to mortality between the two groups, independently from pre-morbid conditions and inflammatory response.

Conclusion: This study on breakthrough COVID-19 infection could help identify vulnerable neurological patients with higher risk of poor outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; Mortality; Neurological disease; Vaccine.