Neurologic Involvement in COVID-19: Cause or Coincidence? A Neuroimaging Perspective

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Fig 1.
Recruitment flow chart.
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Fig 2.
Summary of results, including all patients undergoing neuroimaging (MR imaging/CT). Reasons for neuroimaging are on the y-axis. Neuroimaging findings are color-coded in the legend. Note that “Mild nonfocal neurologic symptoms” refer to any mild state of altered consciousness, mild transient dysarthria, mild transient gait abnormality, or headache. Lacunar or small distal cortical infarctions not susceptible to thrombectomy were considered “small-vessel.”

Table 1:

Demographic and imaging technique characteristics^{^a}

↵a Categoric variables are (No.) (%); age is (median) (fifth to 95th percentile).

Table 2:

Patients undergoing MR imaging

Reason for MR Imaging	No.	Findings of MR Imaging	No.
Code stroke	8	Acute ischemic (small-vessel)	3
		Acute ischemic (large-vessel)	2
		Parenchymal hemorrhage	3
Other focal neurologic symptoms	4	Metastasis	2
		Aneurysm	1
		Normal	1
Mild nonfocal neurologic symptoms	4	Acute ischemic	1
		Parenchymal hemorrhage	1
		Normal	2

Table 3:

Demographic and vascular risk factors in cerebrovascular accidents and all patients with code stroke

	All Code Stroke and CVA	Ischemic	Hematoma	Normal
No.	28	13	7	8
Sex (No.) (%)
Male	16 (57%)	7 (54%)	6 (86%)	3 (38%)
Female	12 (43%)	6 (46%)	1 (14%)	5 (63%)
Age (median) (range) (yr)	71 (45–89)	74 (45–89)	68 (49–78)	73.5 (67–77)
Vascular risk factors (No.) (%)
Hypertension	20 (71%)	9 (69%)	4 (57%)	7 (88%)
Hypercholesterolemia	14 (50%)	7 (54%)	2 (29%)	5 (63%)
Diabetes mellitus	9 (32%)	3 (23%)	2 (29%)	4 (50%)
Smoker	2 (7%)	0	1 (14%)	1 (13%)
Atrial fibrillation	2 (7%)	2 (15%)	0	0
At least 1 CV risk factor	21 (75%)	10 (77%)	4 (57%)	7 (89%)
At least 2 CV risk factors	17 (61%)	7 (54%)	3 (43%)	7 (89%)