The Incidence of SARS-COV-2 Manifestations in the Central Nervous System: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 and presents itself mainly as a respiratory tract infection. However, reports of associated central nervous system (CNS) manifestations are increasing.Methods: We conducted this rapid review to determine the frequency of CNS manifestations of COVID-19 (CNS symptoms, acute cerebrovascular disease, and infectious/inflammatory CNS diseases) and to summarize the current evidence for direct invasion of the CNS by SARS-CoV-2. An information specialist searched Ovid MEDLINE, the CDC: COVID-19 Research Articles Downloadable and WHO COVID-19 Databases, CENTRAL, and Epistemonikos.org on May 13, 2020. Two reviewers screened abstracts and potentially relevant full-text publications independently. The data extraction, assessment of risk of bias,and certainty of evidence using GRADE was done by one reviewer and double-checked by another. If possible and reasonable, a meta-analysis was carried out.Results: We identified 13 relevant studies (four cohort studies, nine case studies) with a total of 866 COVID-19 patients.In a Chinese cohort, dizziness (16.8%; 36 of 214) and headache (13.1%; 28 of 214) were the most common CNS symptoms reported. A meta-analysis of four cohort studies including 851 COVID-19 patients showed an incidence of 3.3% (95% CI: 2.2–4.9) for ischemic stroke (follow-up: one to five weeks). In 13 of 15 encephalitis case studies, PCR testing of the cerebrospinal fluid did not detect any virus components.Conclusion: CNS manifestations occur frequently in patients with COVID-19. It is important to integrate neurologists into the multiprofessional COVID-19 treatment team to detect neurological complications early and to treat them correctly.