Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37393353›Full record

ArticleSpinal cord series and cases2023

Inpatient rehabilitation outcomes in patients with the new diagnosis of COVID-19 tractopathy: a case series.

James B Meiling, Christopher T Ha, Kristin L Garlanger, Brittany A Snider, Eoin P Flanagan, Ronald K Reeves

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Spinal cord series and cases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 44% of its field
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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

James B MeilingDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. meiling.james@mayo.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-2725-1825
Christopher T HaDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Kristin L GarlangerDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Brittany A SniderKessler Institute for Rehabilitation, West Orange, NJ, USA.
Eoin P FlanaganDepartment of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Ronald K ReevesDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2486-5848
Mayo Clinic in Arizona · USKessler Institute for Rehabilitation · USMayo Clinic · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designRetrospective Case Series.

objectivesDescribe the inpatient rehabilitation outcomes of four patients with COVID-19 tractopathy.

settingOlmsted County, Minnesota, United States of America.

methodsRetrospective review of medical records was performed to collect patient data.

resultsFour individuals (n = 4, 3 men and 1 woman, mean age 58.25 years [range 56-61]) completed inpatient rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. All presented after COVID-19 infection and were admitted to acute care with progressive paraparesis. None were able to ambulate on admission to acute care. All received extensive evaluations which were largely negative except for mildly elevated CSF protein and MRI findings of longitudinally extensive T2 hyperintensity signal changes in the lateral (n = 3) and dorsal (n = 1) columns. All patients experienced incomplete spastic paraparesis. All patients experienced neurogenic bowel dysfunction; a majority experienced neuropathic pain (n = 3); half experienced impaired proprioception (n = 2); and a minority experienced neurogenic bladder dysfunction (n = 1). Between rehabilitation admission and discharge, the median improvement in lower extremity motor score was 5 (0-28). All patients were discharged home, but only one was a functional ambulator at time of discharge.

conclusionWhile the underlying mechanism is yet to be elucidated, in rare cases a COVID-19 infection can lead to a tractopathy, presenting as weakness, sensory deficits, spasticity, neuropathic pain, and neurogenic bladder/bowel. Patients with COVID-19 tractopathy would benefit from inpatient rehabilitation to enhance their functional mobility and independence.

Indexed as

COVID-19Urinary Bladder, NeurogenicCOVID-19 TestingFemaleHumansInpatientsMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsRetrospective StudiesTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID37393353
PMCPMC10314931
OpenAlexW4382795316

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.