LONG-TERM NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF COVID-19 IN CHILDREN: REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction. According to the World Health Organization, 10-20% of adult patients who have had COVID-19 experience long-term symptoms that last from the acute period of infection or manifest themselves sometime after it. According to various authors, from 1% to 70% of patients who have undergone COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms. Aim: analysis of literature data on the issue of long-term neurological symptoms of COVID-19 in children. Search strategy: A literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE/PUBMED database to identify works investigating the long-term course of COVID-19 in children using the following keywords: "SARS-CoV-2" or "COVID-19" and "long COVID" or "post COVID" and "children" or "pediatric" and "nervous system" or "neurological". As a result of the search, 2,997 sources were found, of which 31 studies met the selection criteria. Results and discussion. The most common neurological symptoms reported in children after the acute period of COVID-19 were headaches, detected in 0.5% to 80% of cases. They are mainly common among older children and adolescents. The second important symptom was a violation of taste and sense of smell with a frequency from 0.3% to 84%. Cognitive impairment, such as memory impairment and difficulty concentrating, occurred in up to 48% of cases. Up to 33.3% of children had sleep disorders. In addition, myalgia, dizziness, seizures, tremors and tics were recorded. Isolated studies have reported symptoms such as confusion, disorientation or drowsiness, stuttering, paresthesia, tinnitus, ataxia, and impaired fine motor skills. The "fog in the head" symptom, which is often described in adults, has been recorded in only two pediatric studies. Also, one study reported such a serious neurological symptom as developmental regression. Conclusions. Long-term neurological symptoms in children who have had COVID-19 are not uncommon. The most common long-term neurological manifestations in children were headaches, impaired taste and sense of smell, cognitive dysfunction and sleep disorders. The lack of a sufficient number of studies aimed at studying long-term neurological signs in pediatric patients creates the need for further study of this problem.