Neuropsychological measures of “Long COVID-19 Fog” in older subjects

Covid-19 is known to impact older people more severely and to cause a number of persistent symptoms during the recovery phase, including cognitive and neurological ones. Aim of this study is to investigate the cognitive and neurological features of elderly patients with confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19 evaluated in the post-acute phase through a direct neuropsychological evaluation.Individuals recovering from Covid-19 were assessed in an out-patient practice with a complete neurological evaluation and neuropsychological tests (Mini Mental State Examination; Rey Auditory Verbal Test, Multiple Feature Target Cancellation Test, Trial Making Test, Digit span Forward and Backward, Frontal Assessment Battery).100 individuals (mean age 73.4 ±6.1 years, 35% female) assessed on average 96.5 days after the onset of Covid-19 symptoms were included. On average, the adjusted MMSE was 28.2±1.7. Overall, on the neuropsychological assessment, a total of 33 subjects were found to perform at a level considered to be pathological; more specifica lly, 33%, 23% and 20% of subjects failed on Trial Making, Digit Span Backwards and Frontal Evaluation Battery tests respectively.Covid-19 is capable of eliciting persistent measurable neurocognitive alterations particularly relevant in the areas of attention and working memory. These cognitive deran gements may represent an early stage of mild cognitive impairment in the elderly and mandate maximum proactivity by healthcare systems in dealing with this...
Source: Clinics in Geriatric Medicine - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: research