SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2020
Neurological manifestations of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of proportions.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 212 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurological manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric patients: a systematic review.Revista paulista de pediatria : orgao oficial da Sociedade de Pediatria de Sao Paulo · 2025Pooled it
- Definition and measurement of post-COVID-19 conditions in real-world practice: a global systematic literature review.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Chemical senses · 2023Pooled it
- Guidelines for the prevention and management of children and adolescents with COVID-19.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Guideline
- Genetics of COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Database and AI Diagnostic Tools Improve Understanding of Lung Damage, Correlation of Pulmonary Disease and Brain Damage in COVID-19.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Frequency of Neurologic Manifestations in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Neurology · 2021Pooled it
- Syncope and COVID-19 disease - A systematic review.Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical · 2021Pooled it
- Neuroimaging Findings in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Korean journal of radiology · 2021Pooled it
- The relationship between COVID-19's severity and ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Pooled it
- Treatment and Diagnostic Challenges in a Patient with Atypical SARS-CoV-2-Associated Encephalitis Mimicking a Neoplasm: A Case Report.Reports (MDPI) · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Spike Peptides Trigger Nociceptive Responses Through Spinal TLR4 Pathways.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Posterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke Occurring After ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/AZD1222 Vaccination Without Evidence of Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia: A Case Report and Focused Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Infection of 5xFAD mice with a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 does not alter Alzheimer's disease neuropathology yet induces widespread changes in gene expression across diverse cell types.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Identifying GFAP-expressing cell susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection using human iPSC-derived neural cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Infection of 5xFAD mice with a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 does not alter Alzheimer's disease neuropathology yet induces wide-spread changes in gene expression across diverse cell types.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Investigating use of diagnostic codes for post-COVID- 19 condition in Ontario health administrative data.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Neurological complications caused by SARS-CoV-2.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- COVID-19 and the impact on Alzheimer's disease pathology.Journal of neurochemistry · 2024Review
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCoronaviruses mainly affect the respiratory system; however, there are reports of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV causing neurological manifestations. We aimed at discussing the various neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to estimate the prevalence of each of them.
methodsWe searched the following electronic databases; PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WHO database, and ClinicalTrials.gov . Relevant MeSH terms for COVID-19 and neurological manifestations were used. Randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, case series, and case reports were included in the study. To estimate the overall proportion of each neurological manifestations, the study employed meta-analysis of proportions using a random-effects model.
resultsPooled prevalence of each neurological manifestations are, smell disturbances (35.8%; 95% CI 21.4-50.2), taste disturbances (38.5%; 95%CI 24.0-53.0), myalgia (19.3%; 95% CI 15.1-23.6), headache (14.7%; 95% CI 10.4-18.9), dizziness (6.1%; 95% CI 3.1-9.2), and syncope (1.8%; 95% CI 0.9-4.6). Pooled prevalence of acute cerebrovascular disease was (2.3%; 95%CI 1.0-3.6), of which majority were ischaemic stroke (2.1%; 95% CI 0.9-3.3), followed by haemorrhagic stroke (0.4%; 95% CI 0.2-0.6), and cerebral venous thrombosis (0.3%; 95% CI 0.1-0.6).
conclusionsNeurological symptoms are common in SARS-CoV-2 infection, and from the large number of cases reported from all over the world daily, the prevalence of neurological features might increase again. Identifying some neurological manifestations like smell and taste disturbances can be used to screen patients with COVID-19 so that early identification and isolation is possible.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.