In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 16, No. 6 ( 2021-6-30), p. e0253958-
Abstract:
Disorders of consciousness include coma (cannot be aroused, eye remain closed), vegetative state—VS (can appear to be awake, but unable to purposefully interact) and minimally conscious state—MCS (minimal but definite awareness). The objective of this study is to assess the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 infection on the Disorder of Consciousness (DOC) Rehabilitation Unit. Methods This is a retrospective, longitudinal, descriptive, observational, pilot study. We consecutively enrolled 18 patients (age range: 40–72 years, 9 females and 9 males), from three to five months after a brain injury. They were grouped into VS (n = 8) and MCS (n = 10). A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on high-throughput sequencing or real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis of throat swab specimens. We collected data of lung Computed Tomography (CT) and laboratory exams. DOC patients who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 were classified into severe and no severe infected group, according to the American Thoracic Society guidelines. Results A total of 18 hospitalized patients with (16) and without confirmed (2) SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the analysis. After one month, a follow-up clinical evaluation reported that one patient died, one patient was transferred from Covid Unit to Emergency Unit and 3 patients were resulted negative to double swab and they returned to Rehabilitative Unit. Significant differences were reported about hypertension, cardiac disease and respiratory problems between the patients with severe infection and patients without severe infection (P 〈 0.001). The laboratory findings, such as blood cell counts ( P 〈 0.001), C-reactive protein, D-dimer, potassium and vitamin D levels, seemed to be considered as useful prognostic predictors. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study on a sample of chronic DOC patients affected by SARS-CoV-2. This study may offer important new clinical information on COVID-19 for management of DOC patients. Our findings showed that for the subjects with severe infection due to COVID-19, rapid clinical deterioration or worsening could be associated with clinical and laboratory findings , which could contribute to high mortality rate. During the COVID-19 epidemic period, the clinicians should consider all the reported risk factors to avoid delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and to prevent the infection transmission in DOC Rehabilitation Unit.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r007
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r008
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r009
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0253958.r010
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
Bookmarklink