Background and purpose: Although the main clinical features of COVID-19 infection are pulmonary, several associated neurological signs, symptoms and diseases are emerging. Incidence and characteristics of neurological complications are unclear. For this reason, the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) core COVID-19 Task Force initiated a survey on neurological symptoms observed in patients with COVID-19 infection. Methods: A 17-question on-line survey was made available on the EAN website and distributed to EAN members and other worldwide physicians starting on April 9 th , 2020.Results: By April 27 th, 2020, proper data were collected from 2,343 responders (out of 4,199), of whom 82.0% were neurologists, mostly from Europe. Most responders (74.7%) consulted patients with COVID-19 mainly in emergency rooms and in COVID-19 units. The majority (67.0%) had evaluated fewer than 10 patients with neurological manifestations of .The most frequently reported neurological findings were headache (61.9%), myalgia (50.4%), anosmia (49.2%), ageusia (39.8%), impaired consciousness (29.3%), and psychomotor agitation (26.7%). Encephalopathy and acute cerebrovascular disorders were reported at 21.0%. Neurological manifestations were generally interpreted as being possibly related to COVID-19, they were most commonly recognized in patients with multiple general symptoms, and occurred at any time during infection. Conclusion:Neurologists are currently and actively involved in the management of neurological issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey justifies setting up a prospective registry to better capture the prevalence of patients with neuro COVID-19, neurological disease characteristics and the contribution of neurological manifestations to outcome.

The incidence of NS is inversely associated with gestational age and birth weight. The etiology and a low Apgar score are strongly related to mortality; female gender and status epilepticus are risk factors for the development of epilepsy.

ObjectiveTo investigate neurologic outcome of patients with cardiac arrest with refractory status epilepticus (RSE) treated with a standardized aggressive protocol with antiepileptic drugs and anesthetics compared to patients with other EEG patterns.MethodsIn the prospective cohort study, 166 consecutive patients with cardiac arrest in coma were stratified according to 4 independent EEG patterns (benign, RSE, generalized periodic discharges [GPDs], malignant nonepileptiform) and multimodal prognostic indicators. Primary outcomes were survival and cerebral performance category (CPC) at 6 months.ResultsRSE occurred in 36 patients (21.7%) and was treated with an aggressive standardized protocol as long as multimodal prognostic indicators were not unfavorable. RSE started after 3 ± 2.3 days after cardiac arrest and lasted 4.7 ± 4.3 days. A benign EEG pattern was recorded in 76 patients (45.8%); a periodic pattern (GPDs) was seen in 13 patients (7.8%); and a malignant nonepileptiform EEG pattern was recorded in 41 patients (24.7%). The 4 EEG patterns were highly associated with different prognostic indicators (low-flow time, clinical motor seizures, N20 responses, neuron-specific enolase, neuroimaging). Survival and good neurologic outcome (CPC 1 or 2) at 6 months were 72.4% and 71.1% for benign EEG pattern, 54.3% and 44.4% for RSE, 15.4% and 0% for GPDs, and 2.4% and 0% for malignant nonepileptiform EEG pattern, respectively.ConclusionsAggressive and prolonged treatment of RSE may be justified in patients with cardiac arrest with favorable multimodal prognostic indicators.