Central hypersomnia and chronic insomnia: expanding the spectrum of sleep disorders in long COVID syndrome - a prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Long-onset COVID syndrome has been described in patients with COVID-19 infection with persistence of symptoms or development of sequelae beyond 4 weeks after the onset of acute symptoms, a medium- and long-term consequence of COVID-19. This syndrome can affect up to 32% of affected individuals, with symptoms of fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain, cognitive disorders, insomnia, and psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed to characterize and evaluate the prevalence of sleep symptoms in patients with long COVID syndrome. METHODOLOGY: A total of 207 patients with post-COVID symptoms were evaluated through clinical evaluation with a neurologist and specific exams in the subgroup complaining of excessive sleepiness. RESULTS: Among 189 patients included in the long COVID sample, 48 (25.3%) had sleep-related symptoms. Insomnia was reported by 42 patients (22.2%), and excessive sleepiness (ES) was reported by 6 patients (3.17%). Four patients with ES were evaluated with polysomnography and test, multiple sleep latencies test, and actigraphic data. Two patients had a diagnosis of central hypersomnia, and one had narcolepsy. A history of steroid use was related to sleep complaints (insomnia and excessive sleepiness), whereas depression was related to excessive sleepiness. We observed a high prevalence of cognitive complaints in these patients. CONCLUSION: Complaints related to sleep, such as insomnia and excessive sleepiness, seem to be part of the clinical post-acute syndrome (long COVID syndrome), composing part of its clinical spectrum, relating to some clinical data.

Characterization of Headache in COVID-19: a Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Headache is the most common neurological symptom in COVID-19, reported in 6.5 to 34% of patients. Few studies have analyzed its characteristics, and some of them included cases without laboratory confirmation or reported only critical patients. We aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 associated headache in laboratory-confirmed cases. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of patients with COVID-19 and neurological symptoms. Patients who reported headache answered an interview about its clinical characteristics. Twenty-four patients with COVID-19 associated headache completed the interview. Mean age of patients was 53.8 (standard deviation-17.44), and 14 out of 24 (58.3%) were male. The majority (75%) had no previous history of headache. Fever was documented in 19 out of the 24 patients (79.1%). Headache was predominantly bifrontal or holocranial, in pressure, during hours, worsening with cough or physical activity. COVID-19 headache tends to appear in the first days of symptoms, be either frontal or holocranial and last for days. The quality of pain in pressure and the worsening with cough or physical activity were reported in most cases. We have not found any characteristic that could differentiate COVID-19 associated headache from other causes of headache, possibly because of its multifactorial mechanism.

Avaliação da pressão intraocular e da pressão de perfusão ocular durante a hemodiálise / Evaluation of intraocular pressure and ocular perfusion pressure during hemodialysis

Resumo Objetivo: Avaliar a variação da pressão intraocular e da pressão de perfusão ocular durante sessão de hemodiálise, nos períodos pré, intra (a cada hora) e pós dialítico, em pacientes tratados em Serviços de Referência em hemodiálise da cidade de Fortaleza - CE. Métodos: O estudo foi longitudinal e prospectivo. 45 pacientes foram submetidos à hemodiálise. Todos os pacientes foram recrutados a fazer um exame oftalmológico, além da aferição da pressão intraocular com o Tonopen. Resultados: A amostra foi composta por 26 homens e 19 mulheres com idade média de 51,8 anos. O estudo revelou que há uma diferença importante entre a pressão intraocular pré e pós hemodiálise, diminuindo em média 2,59 mmHg. Ao analisar a pressão de perfusão ocular, foi encontrado um aumento médio de 1,85 mmHg entre o início e o término da hemodiálise. Conclusão: De acordo com o presente estudo, o processo de hemodiálise é um procedimento aparentemente seguro em relação à alteração da pressão intraocular e da pressão de perfusão ocular, como causadores de patologias oculares, principalmente o glaucoma.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the variation of intraocular pressure and ocular perfusion pressure during hemodialysis sessions, in the pre, intra (hourly) and post dialytic periods, in patients treated at Hemodialysis Reference Services in Fortaleza - CE. Methods: The study was longitudinal and prospective. 45 patients underwent hemodialysis. All patients were recruited to undergo an ophthalmologic examination, in addition to the intraocular pressure measurement with Tonopen. Results: The sample consisted of 26 men and 19 women with a mean age of 51.8 years. The study revealed that there is an important difference between pre and post hemodialysis intraocular pressure, decreasing by an average of 2.59 mmHg. When analyzing ocular perfusion pressure, an average increase of 1.85 mmHg was found between the onset and end of hemodialysis. Conclusion: According to the present study, the hemodialysis process is an apparently safe procedure in relation to altered intraocular pressure and ocular perfusion pressure, as causes of ocular pathologies, mainly glaucoma.