Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the differences in clinical presentations and the impact of healthcare organization on outcomes of neurological COVID-19 patients admitted during the first and second pandemic waves. Methods In this single-center cohort study, we included all patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to a Neuro-COVID Unit. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were compared between patients admitted during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Two hundred twenty-three patients were included, of whom 112 and 111 were hospitalized during the first and second pandemic waves, respectively. Patients admitted during the second wave were younger and exhibited pulmonary COVID-19 severity, resulting in less oxygen support ( n = 41, 36.9% vs n = 79, 70.5%, p < 0.001) and lower mortality rates (14.4% vs 31.3%, p = 0.004). The different healthcare strategies and early steroid treatment emerged as significant predictors of mortality independently from age, pre-morbid conditions and COVID-19 severity in Cox regression analyses. Conclusions Differences in healthcare strategies during the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic probably explain the differences in clinical outcomes independently of disease severity, underlying the importance of standardized early management of neurological patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10072-022-05946-8.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Mortality, outcomes, steroid therapy, Neurological disease, 【초록키워드】 pandemic, Hospitalized, COVID-19 pandemic, disease severity, Infection, COVID-19 severity, outcome, cohort study, Clinical outcome, management, healthcare, Patient, second wave, age, predictor, demographic, Cox regression, clinical presentation, neurological, COVID-19 patient, supplementary material, laboratory data, single-center, lower mortality, unit, oxygen support, objective, difference, steroid treatment, Result, resulting, evaluate, exhibited, condition, less, analyses, explain, patients with SARS-CoV-2, 【제목키워드】 outcome, clinical, healthcare, Patient, neurological,