Potential Neurological Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients: A Nonsystematic Review of the Literature During the First Year of Pandemics

Abstract

Coronavirus emerged from Wuhan China, which has been a global challenge for healthcare authorities and individuals. Patients are presenting to clinicians with neurological symptoms caused by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) or with preexisting neurological conditions with fear of contracting the virus. This is a literature review of COVID-19 patients and patients with underlying neurological conditions affected by the pandemic encompassing December 2020 to March 2021. We searched multiple databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Semantic Scholar, and Wiley Online for information on neurological manifestations of patients suffering from coronavirus. Clinical data and co-morbidities of the patients were examined. Headache, dizziness, hyposmia, and stroke symptoms were reported. According to recently published literature, some of the patients with coronavirus who have respiratory symptoms also develop neurological symptoms. Certain medical emergencies such as stroke require immediate treatment to ensure better clinical outcomes for the patients. Neurologists and clinicians need to recognize these acute symptoms in order to timely manage and treat the affected patients.