Neurovascular manifestations in patients with COVID-19: a case series

OBJECTIVE: To describe cerebrovascular manifestations in patients hospitalized for treatment of severe COVID-19, highlighting the comorbidities observed, and those that may play a relevant role as risk factors for severe outcomes. METHODS: This case series retrospective analyzed, from June to November, 2020, ten patients admitted to the emergency department, with positive nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction assay for SARS-CoV-2, presenting with neurological symptoms and positive findings at brain imaging studies. RESULTS: In this sample, the clinical severity of the symptoms varied from mild to critical. Ischemic stroke was observed in four patients, hemorrhagic events occurred in five cases. Three patients evolved with large parenchymal hemorrhage, and one presented petechial bleeding foci. In one case, we observed subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with bilateral hypodensity in both globus pallidus. Typical posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome findings were observed in one patient on brain computed tomography. CONCLUSION: Patients with neurovascular complications related to COVID-19 had positive findings in brain imaging and neurological symptoms. The pathological entities observed drew attention to the neurological risk of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, including worse outcomes in individuals whose medical history includes clinical comorbidities, especially hypertension and obesity.