PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Patel, Roshni Abee
AU  - Stebbins, Glenn T.
AU  - Kishen, Ekta B.
AU  - Barton, Brandon
TI  - COVID-19 Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Neurodegenerative Disease
AID  - 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000001117
DP  - 2022 Feb 01
TA  - Neurology: Clinical Practice
PG  - 43--51
VI  - 12
IP  - 1
4099  - http://cp.neurology.org/content/12/1/43.short
4100  - http://cp.neurology.org/content/12/1/43.full
AB  - Background and Objectives COVID-19 outcomes in patients with neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) are not well understood, and we hypothesize that there may be increased morbidity and mortality in this group.Methods This was a retrospective cohort study performed at 3 hospitals in the Chicagoland area. All patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection with ND during a 3-month period (March 15, 2020–June 15, 2020) were included and compared with age-matched controls (CL) at 1:1 ratio. Primary outcomes were death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and invasive ventilation. Secondary outcomes included presenting COVID-19 symptoms, development of encephalopathy, supplementary oxygen use, discharge disposition, and risk factors for mortality.Results The study included 132 patients with neurodegenerative disorders and 132 age-matched CL. Ninety-day mortality (ND 19.7% vs CL 23.5%, p = 0.45) and ICU admission (ND 31.5% vs CL 35.9%, p = 0.43) rates were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Patients with ND had a lower rate of invasive ventilation (ND 11.4% vs CL 23.2%, p = 0.0075) and supplementary oxygen use (ND 83.2% vs CL 95.1%, p = 0.0012). Patients with ND were also more likely to have altered mental status or confusion as their presenting COVID-19 symptom and less likely to present with respiratory symptoms. Patients with ND were discharged to nursing home or hospice at higher rates compared with CL.Discussion We found that there was no difference in short-term mortality of patients with ND hospitalized for COVID-19 compared with CL, but they may have higher rates of neurologic complications and disability. Future studies should address long-term outcomes.