TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with severe acquired brain injury and a disorder of consciousness
T2 - an observational study
AU - Caronni, Antonio
AU - Liaci, Emanuele
AU - Bianchi, Anna
AU - Viganò, Alessandro
AU - Marenco, Francesco
AU - Comanducci, Angela
AU - Cabrini, Daniela Maria
AU - Meloni, Mario
AU - Alberoni, Margherita
AU - Farina, Elisabetta
AU - Bianco, Mariangela
AU - Galeri, Silvia
AU - Devalle, Guya
AU - Navarro, Jorge
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Purpose: SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause the coronavirus disease (COVID), ranging from flu-like symptoms to interstitial pneumonia. Mortality is high in COVID pneumonia and it is the highest among the frailest. COVID could be particularly serious in patients with severe acquired brain injury (SABI), such as those with a disorder of consciousness. We here describe a cohort of patients with a disorder of consciousness exposed to SARS-CoV-2 early after their SABI. Materials and methods: The full cohort of 11 patients with SABI hospitalized in March 2020 in the IRCCS Fondazione Don Gnocchi rehabilitation (Milan, Italy) was recruited. Participants received SARS-CoV-2 testing and different clinical and laboratory data were collected. Results: Six patients contracted SARS-CoV-2 and four of them developed the COVID. Of these, one patient had ground-glass opacities on the chest CT scan, while the remaining three developed consolidations. No patient died and the overall respiratory involvement was mild, requiring in the worst cases low-flow oxygen. Conclusions: Here we report the clinical course of a cohort of patients with SABI exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The infection spread among patients and caused COVID in some of them. Unexpectedly, COVID was moderate, caused at most mild respiratory distress and did not result in fatalities.
AB - Purpose: SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause the coronavirus disease (COVID), ranging from flu-like symptoms to interstitial pneumonia. Mortality is high in COVID pneumonia and it is the highest among the frailest. COVID could be particularly serious in patients with severe acquired brain injury (SABI), such as those with a disorder of consciousness. We here describe a cohort of patients with a disorder of consciousness exposed to SARS-CoV-2 early after their SABI. Materials and methods: The full cohort of 11 patients with SABI hospitalized in March 2020 in the IRCCS Fondazione Don Gnocchi rehabilitation (Milan, Italy) was recruited. Participants received SARS-CoV-2 testing and different clinical and laboratory data were collected. Results: Six patients contracted SARS-CoV-2 and four of them developed the COVID. Of these, one patient had ground-glass opacities on the chest CT scan, while the remaining three developed consolidations. No patient died and the overall respiratory involvement was mild, requiring in the worst cases low-flow oxygen. Conclusions: Here we report the clinical course of a cohort of patients with SABI exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The infection spread among patients and caused COVID in some of them. Unexpectedly, COVID was moderate, caused at most mild respiratory distress and did not result in fatalities.
KW - COVID-19
KW - disorder of consciousness
KW - hospitals
KW - minimally conscious state
KW - neurological rehabilitation
KW - persistent vegetative state
KW - rehabilitation
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U2 - 10.1080/02699052.2021.1887937
DO - 10.1080/02699052.2021.1887937
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100872362
JO - Brain Injury
JF - Brain Injury
SN - 0269-9052
ER -