Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33982853›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of neurology2021

Encephalitis as a neurological complication of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence, outcomes, and predictors.

Isabel Siow, Keng Siang Lee, John J Y Zhang, Seyed Ehsan Saffari, Adeline Ng

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
83citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–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

83 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Immune-mediated neurological syndrome in SARS-CoV-2 infection: a review of literature on autoimmune encephalitis in COVID-19.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022
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23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Isabel SiowYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5989-1424
Keng Siang LeeBristol Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2308-0579
John J Y ZhangYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Seyed Ehsan SaffariHealth Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Adeline NgDepartment of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background and purposeAlthough COVID-19 predominantly affects the respiratory system, recent studies have reported the occurrence of neurological disorders such as stroke in relation to COVID-19 infection. Encephalitis is an inflammatory condition of the brain that has been described as a severe neurological complication of COVID-19. Despite a growing number of reported cases, encephalitis related to COVID-19 infection has not been adequately characterised. To address this gap, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to describe the incidence, clinical course, and outcomes of patients who suffer from encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19.

methodsAll studies published between 1 November 2019 and 24 October 2020 that reported on patients who developed encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19 were included. Only cases with radiological and/or biochemical evidence of encephalitis were included.

resultsIn this study, 610 studies were screened and 23 studies reporting findings from 129,008 patients, including 138 with encephalitis, were included. The average time from diagnosis of COVID-19 to onset of encephalitis was 14.5 days (range = 10.8-18.2 days). The average incidence of encephalitis as a complication of COVID-19 was 0.215% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.056%-0.441%). The average mortality rate of encephalitis in COVID-19 patients was 13.4% (95% CI = 3.8%-25.9%). These patients also had deranged clinical parameters, including raised serum inflammatory markers and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis.

conclusionsAlthough encephalitis is an uncommon complication of COVID-19, when present, it results in significant morbidity and mortality. Severely ill COVID-19 patients are at higher risk of suffering from encephalitis as a complication of the infection.

Indexed as

COVID-19EncephalitisNervous System DiseasesHumansIncidenceSARS-CoV-2complicationcoronavirusCOVID-19encephalitis

Identifiers

PMID33982853
PMCPMC8239820

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.