Objective: Report outcomes on patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and related disorders with COVID-19 illness.Methods: From March 16 to April 30 th , 2020, patients with MS or related disorders at NYU Langone MS Comprehensive Care Center (MSCC) were identified with laboratory-confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The diagnosis was established using a standardized questionnaire or by review of in-patient hospital records. Results: We identified 76 patients (55 with relapsing MS of which 9 had pediatric-onset;17 with progressive MS; and 4 with related disorders). 37 underwent PCR testing and were confirmed positive. Of the entire group, 64 (84%) patients were on disease-modifying therapy (DMT) including anti-CD20 therapies (n=34, 44.7%) and sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulators (n=10, 13.5%). The most common COVID-19 symptoms were fever and cough, but 21.1% of patients had neurologic symptom recrudescence preceding or coinciding with the infection. A total of 18 (23.7%) were hospitalized; 8 (10.5%) had COVID-19 critical illness or related death. Features more common among those hospitalized or with critical illness or death were older age, presence of comorbidities, progressive disease, and a non-ambulatory status. No DMT class was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization or fatal outcome. Conclusions: Most MS patients with COVID-19 do not require hospitalization despite being on DMTs. Factors associated with critical illness were similar to the general 'at risk' patient population. DMT use did not emerge as a predictor of poor COVID-19 outcome in this preliminary sample.

Background: Persistent cognitive symptoms have been reported following COVID-19 hospitalization. We investigated the relationship between demographics, social determinants of health (SDOH) and cognitive outcomes 6months after hospitalization for COVID-19. Methods: We analyzed 6-month follow-up data collected from a multi-center, prospective study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Demographic and SDOH variables (age, race/ethnicity, education, employment, health insurance status, median income, primary language, living arrangements, and pre-COVID disability) were compared between patients with normal versus abnormal telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessments (t-MOCA; scores<18/22). Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate predictors of t-MoCA. Results: Of 382 patients available for 6-month follow-up, 215 (56%) completed the t-MoCA (n = 109/215 [51%] had normal and n = 106/215 [49%] abnormal results). 14/215 (7%) patients had a prior history of dementia/ cognitive impairment. Significant univariate predictors of abnormal t-MoCA included older age, ≤12 years of education, unemployment pre-COVID, Black race, and a pre-COVID history of cognitive impairment (all p < 0.05). In multivariable analyses, education ≤12 years (adjusted OR 5.21, 95%CI 2.25-12.09), Black race (aOR 5.54, 95%CI 2.25-13.66), and the interaction of baseline functional status and unemployment prior to hospitalization (aOR 3.98, 95%CI 1.23-12.92) were significantly associated with abnormal t-MoCA scores after adjusting for age, history of dementia, language, neurological complications, income and discharge disposition. Conclusions: Fewer years of education, Black race and unemployment with baseline disability were associated with abnormal t-MoCA scores 6-months post-hospitalization for COVID-19. These associations may be due to undiagnosed baseline cognitive dysfunction, implicit biases of the t-MoCA, other unmeasured SDOH or biological effects of SARS-CoV-2.

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