Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33106811›Full record

ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2020

Modelling the Anatomical Distribution of Neurological Events in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review.

Nicholas Parsons, Athanasia Outsikas, Annie Parish, Rebecca Clohesy, Nilam Thakkar, Fiore D'Aprano, Fidel Toomey, Shailesh Advani, Govinda Poudel

Open access · greenAbstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Nicholas Parsons
Athanasia Outsikas
Annie Parish
Rebecca Clohesy
Nilam Thakkar
Fiore D'Aprano
Fidel Toomey
Shailesh Advani
Deakin University · AUAustralian Catholic University · AUCurtin University · AUNational Institutes of Health · USThe Royal Melbourne Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuropathology caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported across several studies. The characterisation of the spatial distribution of these pathology remains critical to assess long and short-term neurological

methodWe performed a systematic review of the literature to quantify the locations of small neurological events identified with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among COVID-19 patients. Neurological events were localised into the Desikan-Killiany grey and white matter atlases. A mathematical network diffusion model was then used to test whether the spatial distribution of neurological events could be explained via a linear spread through the structural connectome of the brain.

findingsWe identified 35 articles consisting of 123 patients that assessed the spatial distribution of small neurological events among COVID-19 patients. Of these, 91 patients had grey matter changes, 95 patients had white matter changes and 72 patients had confirmed cerebral microbleeds. White matter events were observed within 14 of 42 white matter bundles from the IIT atlas. The highest proportions (26%) of events were observed within the bilateral corticospinal tracts. The splenium and middle of the corpus callosum were affected in 14% and 9% of the cases respectively. Grey matter events were spatially distributed in the 41 brain regions within the Desikan-Killiany atlas. The highest proportions (∼10%) of the events were observed in areas including the bilateral superior temporal, precentral, and lateral occipital cortices. Sub-cortical events were most frequently identified in the Pallidum. The application of a mathematical network diffusion model suggested that the spatial pattern of the small neurological events in COVID-19 can be modelled with a linear diffusion of spread from epicentres in the bilateral cerebellum and basal ganglia (Pearson's

interpretationTo our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically characterise the spatial distribution of small neurological events in COVID-19 patients and test whether the spatial distribution of these events can be explained by a linear diffusion spread model. The location of neurological events is consistent with commonly identified neurological symptoms including alterations in conscious state among COVID-19 patients that require brain imaging. Given the prevalence and severity of these manifestations, clinicians should carefully monitor neurological symptoms within COVID-19 patients and their potential long-term

Identifiers

PMID33106811
PMCPMC7587784
OpenAlexW3093808280

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.