Objective Neurological symptoms of COVID-19 patients have been recently described. However, no comprehensive data have been reported on pre-existing neurological comorbidities and COVID-19. This study aims at evaluating the prevalence of neurological comorbidities, and their association with COVID-19 severity. Methods We evaluated all consecutive patients admitted to the Emergency Room (ER) of our hospital between the 3rd March and the 14th April 2020, and diagnosed with COVID-19. Data on neurological and non-neurological diseases were extracted, as well as data on demographic characteristics and on severity degree of COVID-19. The prevalence of neurological comorbidities was calculated, and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the association between neurological diseases and COVID-19 severity. Results We included 344 patients. Neurological comorbidities accounted for 22.4% of cases, with cerebrovascular diseases and cognitive impairment being the most frequent. Neurological comorbidity resulted independently associated with severe COVID-19 (OR 2.305; p = 0.012), as well as male gender ( p = 0.001), older age ( p = 0.001), neoplastic diseases ( p = 0.039), and arterial hypertension ( p = 0.045). When neurological comorbidity was associated with non-neurological comorbidities, the OR for severe COVID-19 rose to 7.394 ( p = 0.005). Neurological patients, in particular cerebrovascular and cognitively impaired ones, received more respiratory support indication. Conclusion Neurological comorbidities represent a significant determinant of COVID-19 severity, deserving a thorough evaluation since the earliest phases of infection. The vulnerability of patients affected by neurological diseases should suggest a greater attention in targeting this population for proactive viral screening.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, stroke, NEUROLOGY, Dementia, Cerebrovascular disease, 【초록키워드】 severe COVID-19, severity, hospital, Infection, Comorbidities, COVID-19 severity, Comorbidity, Gender, Prevalence, male, Patient, Older age, Cognitive impairment, Logistic regression, disease, patients, association, Analysis, Emergency, Respiratory Support, neurological, COVID-19 patient, demographic characteristics, Arterial hypertension, Neurological disease, room, objective, Neurological symptom, Result, greater, described, affected, reported, evaluated, accounted, calculated, were used, consecutive patient, diagnosed with COVID-19, with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 Comorbidity, severity of COVID-19,