POST COVID-19 NEUROLOGICAL SYNDROME (PCNS)
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of a scale unheard of since the 1918 flu pandemic. Although the principal clinical presentation is with respiratory illness, neurological indications are being perceived progressively. Based on information on other Covids, especially those that caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemics, cases of CNS and peripheral nervous system disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 might be expected to be rare.
There are numerous questions about the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain — however, new examination explores the possible effect of Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome (PCNS). As the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic continues, with currently more than 38 million COVID-19 cases worldwide, we’re beginning to comprehend the long-term impact of the infection on the human brain.
Every day, more and more reports are appearing in the conventional media of recovering patients portraying lingering symptoms that won’t disappear. In scientific journals, like Nature, research has discovered similar symptoms linked to earlier epidemics including the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV). The signs and symptoms are similar to those experienced post-stroke — but the age group is much younger — and, given the scale of global infection, Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome has the potential to become a major problem.
Numerous individuals who have officially recovered from these viruses quoted disabling chronic fatigue (that is, fatigue lasting more than six weeks) and a series of persistent attention and cognitive problems — similar to post-stroke symptoms such as fatigue, depression and apathy among patients. A total of 730 COVID-19 clinically stable patients were evaluated and an enormous rate– 96.2 per cent — were found be suffering from severe Post-traumatic stress disorder; something we believe is one of the principal indications of Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome.
In 2009, similar reports have previously been reported after the SARS epidemic. Around 50 per cent of the patients recovering from the virus developed Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms that were still evident four years after infection. It is starting to arise the undeniable evidence of persistent long-term neurological and affective symptoms post-COVID-19. Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome is a real issue which needs to be addressed.
Our brains choose and control how we feel, how we perform and how we get on with our everyday lives. So, disorders of the brain can have a significant impact on the lives of the patients and worldwide also are the leading cause of disability.
The neuropsychological impact of COVID-19 has been related to changing levels of depression, sleep impairment and anxiety, among seventy medical workers Post COVID-19. A large study from Belgium and Netherland including 112 hospitalized and 2001 non-hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients have noted that even among a large number of asymptomatic or very mildly symptomatic patients, persistent symptoms such as muscle pain, dizziness, headaches, weakness, and anosmia continued to experience for months, highlighting the need for on-going attentiveness for Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome by the neurologists.
Presently, as the world is still experiencing the pandemic and its effects, it is too soon to depict the full clinical picture of Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome. However, the experts believe that the published evidence has already made an undeniable case for the medicine to recognize the increasing numbers of ex-patients with Post COVID Neurological Syndrome (PCNS) and the need for on-going neurological and cognitive/affective monitoring of all cases of COVID-19 (irrespective of the severity from asymptomatic, mild to severe) for Post COVID-19 Neurological Syndrome. Special attention to the peripheral blood markers of inflammation such as neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, C — reactive protein, D-dimer, serum ferritin would appear.
COVID-19 is still a new illness in the medical field, and experts don’t fully understand the potential long-term health effects of the infection. Most of the doctors who are well known for stroke treatment in Delhi NCR suggest that if the patient is experiencing neurological symptoms or mental health concerns after COVID-19 infection, an evaluation by a healthcare clinician is the next step toward recovery.
