Neurological imaging findings in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a retrospective observational study in two Brazilian reference centers

BACKGROUND: A variety of neurological manifestations have been attributed to COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of neurological symptoms and neuroimaging findings in patients hospitalized in two Brazilian reference centers. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 presenting in two hospitals in Brazil between March 4 and July 7, 2020, who underwent brain imaging. RESULTS: We recorded 1,359 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Brain imaging was performed in 250 (18.4%) patients with neurological symptoms, and nine of them (3.6%) had acute or subacute ischemic stroke neuroimaging findings. Six of the nine patients initially presented with respiratory symptoms while the other three patients presented to the emergency room with acute stroke signs. CONCLUSIONS: We described the neuroimaging findings of patients infected with COVID-19 who presented with neurological symptoms in two major hospitals in Brazil. We reinforce the importance of being aware of cerebrovascular complications, both in severe hospitalized patients and in patients who present to the emergency room with acute neurological symptoms, even in the elderly.