Clinical and laboratory characteristics of children with neurological presentations of COVID-19: a single-center experience

The study aimed to assess the frequency of neurological presentations of pediatric COVID-19 patients and compare the clinical and laboratory characteristics and the outcomes of those who presented with neurological complaints and those without complaints. A cross-sectional study enrolled 84 children diagnosed with COVID-19 at the emergency department over 12 months. All previously healthy children with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in the study. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made by positive PCR of a nasopharyngeal swab. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 included COVID-19 patients with neurological complaints, and group 2 included COVID-19 patients with non-neurological complaints. Demographical, clinical, and laboratory characteristics were compared among groups. During the study period, 84 children aged 2 months-15years were diagnosed with COVID-19. Only 17 patients (20.2%) presented with new-onset neurological complaints. Seizure was the most common neurological complaint (58.8%), and febrile convulsion was the most frequent diagnosis of COVID-19 patients with neurological presentation (47.1%). C-reactive protein (CRP) and duration of hospitalization were higher in patients with neurological presentations, with P values of 0.002 and 0.001, respectively. All patients with neurological complaints survived the acute illness. Neurological symptoms were present in 20% of the COVID-19 pediatric patients, having higher CRP than patients with non-neurological presentations. CRP can be used as a reliable indicator for neurological symptoms in COVID-19 pediatric patients.