EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOMS, HOSPITALIZATION AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN COVID-19 PATIENTS

Abstract

The Brazilian government declared a National Public Health Emergency, caused by the covid-19 pandemic, on February 3, 2020. Currently, some authors warn of the need to better understand the neurological implications of the disease, either due to its potential to cause damage to brain tissue and connections or the history of effects by Coronaviruses. In Latin America and Brazil, there is a notable lack of information about the neurocognitive effects of covid-19. Chronic post-covid-19 syndrome is a condition that can persist up to a year after SARS-CoV-2 infection, the most common symptoms of which include fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain, headache, memory and concentration problems and mood changes. The objective of this research was to observe the relationship between the number of covid-19 symptoms, hospitalization time, or admission to ICU and cognitive deficits, assessed through standardized tests for the Brazilian population. A sample of 108 patients with a positive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 through SWAB (RT-PCR) testing, who sought cardiopulmonary or neurofunctional rehabilitation, was selected. The subjects answered a medical history questionnaire, the Rey Complex Figure, RAVLT, digit subtest, and the WASI. When looking at the subgroup that had been in the ICU, the data indicated moderate correlations, showing that the performance of general intelligence measured by the WASI was better for those who received more time of intervention in the ICU. The severity of the disease, measured by the number of symptoms, seems to have had minimal impact on the cognitive performance of the subjects in the sample.