Experts are still learning about the many possible symptoms of the coronavirus. And new research suggests that COVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms as well—especially in severe cases.
For the study, published this week in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, researchers looked at data for 509 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to a network of hospitals in Chicago. Of those hospitalized patients, 215 had neurological symptoms at the onset of their illness and 319 had those symptoms when hospitalized. By the end of their illnesses, 82% of those hospitalized patients (419 people) experienced neurological symptoms.
Those symptoms included a wide range of issues stemming from the nervous system, the most common of which were mild and included muscle aches (present in 45% of patients throughout their illness), headaches (present in 38%), and dizziness or vertigo (present in 30%). Another relatively common complication in this group was encephalopathy, a condition in which brain functioning is altered in a way that can cause confusion, memory issues, and difficulty concentrating, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. About 32% of the hospitalized patients had this symptom. Most patients with neurological symptoms (71%) recovered well by the time they were discharged, but having encephalopathy in particular was associated with worse outcomes.
These results are from a relatively small sampling of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, so it’s not clear exactly how common these symptoms are across all people with coronavirus infections. But these findings do suggest that COVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms—especially among those with more severe cases of the illness and those that require hospitalization. “This study highlights the high frequency and range of neurologic manifestations, which occurred in more than four fifths of COVID‐19 patients hospitalized in our hospital network system,” the study authors conclude.
It’s not totally understood why viruses—including the new coronavirus—cause neurological issues like headaches, but we do know that headaches are very common with viral illnesses, SELF explained previously. That doesn’t mean that any old muscle aches, headaches, or dizziness are definite sign you have COVID-19, however. It’s important to put those symptoms in the context of any other COVID-19 symptoms someone might have, such as a fever, cough, or shortness of breath. And if there’s any confusion, it’s worth getting in touch with a health care provider who can give recommendations about testing and any other steps to take.
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