Evaluation of Intracranial Vascular and Non-Vascular Pathologies in Patients Hospitalized due to COVID-19 Infection

OBJECTIVEAlthough Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory virus different clinical presentations may appear by affecting other organs and systems. Along with vascular diseases in COVID-19 disease, other conditions involving the central nervous system (CNS) such as meningocephalitis, cerebral edema, and lesions on corpus callosum. Neuroimaging has an extremely important place in the diagnosis when central nervus system involvement is clinically suspected in people infected with COVID-19. METHODSThe study was monocentric, retrospectively designed between March 2020 and May 2021 in a tertiary healthcare facility. Among the patients who underwent neurological evaluation, patients with anomaly in brain MRI and CT were included in the study. RESULTSAmong 5,430 patients who have been admitted due to COVID-19 between the dates mentioned above, 51 patients including 27 (52.9%) females and 24 (47.1%) males presented abnormal findings in cerebral radiological tests. Vascular abnormality was detected in 45 patients whereas 6 patients presented non-vascular abnormality. General demographic data and concomitant diseases of the patients were presented in Table 1and Table 2. CONCLUSIONIn line with the literature, this study which reviewed abnormalities of CNS involvement reflected on brain MRI and CT among neurological complications due to COVID-19 infection revealed that vascular abnormalities. Presence of concomitant diseases including advanced age and hypertension was detected as risk factors for development of vascular abnormality. It was documented that non-vascular brain anomalies which are less common and treated differently and these are at earlier ages when compared to patients with vascular anomalies with fewer co-morbidities and shorter duration of infection.