Exacerbation of Pre-existing Neurological Symptoms With COVID-19 in Patients With Chronic Neurological Diseases: An Updated Systematic Review.

The neurotropism of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can potentially explain the worsening of symptoms in patients with a history of neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and epilepsy. Several studies have reported that these pre-existing conditions may worsen with a higher frequency of flare-ups, thus resulting in a more significant risk of patient mortality. In this review, we sought to provide an overview of the relationship between pre-existing neurological disorders and COVID-19, focusing on whether the initial infection directly influenced the severity of symptoms. We systematically searched the electronic database PubMed (MEDLINE) and used specific keywords related to our aims from January 2020 to July 2022. All articles published on COVID-19 with keywords pertaining to pre-existing neurological diseases were retrieved and subsequently analyzed. After independent review, the data from 107 articles were selected and evaluated. After analyzing the data from selected articles reviewing the effect of COVID-19 on neurological conditions, we have documented the relationship between said pre-existing neurological diseases, showing an increased risk of hospitalization, admission length, worsening of symptoms, and even mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Impact of alcohol use disorder on stroke risk in geriatric patients with prediabetes: A nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: With rising trends of prediabetes in the geriatric population, we aim to assess the impact of alcohol use disorder (AUD) on the outcomes of patients with prediabetes. METHODS: Hospitalisations amongst the patients (≥65 years) with prediabetes were identified with a diagnosis of AUD and in-hospital stroke using the National Inpatient Sample database (2007-2014). We compared demographics, comorbidities, all-cause mortality, stroke rate and resource utilisation in the elderly prediabetes patients with vs without AUD. Primary outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and stroke rate, whereas secondary outcomes were the length of stay (days), disposition and resource utilisation in the AUD cohort as compared to the non-AUD cohort. RESULTS: We had a total of 1.7 million hospitalisations amongst elderly patients with prediabetes, 2.8% (n = 47 962) had AUD. The AUD cohort was more often younger (71 vs 77 years), male (74.1% vs 43.5%) and nonelectively (84.5% vs 78.3%) admitted than non-AUD cohort. The AUD cohort more often consisted of African Americans (9.0% vs 6.6%) and Hispanics (5.3% vs 5.1%) than non-AUD cohort. The AUD cohort showed higher rates of smoking, drug abuse, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coagulopathy, peripheral vascular disease and fluid-electrolyte disorders whereas a lower rate of cardiovascular risk factors than non-AUD cohort. All-cause mortality (4.4% vs 3.9%) and stroke (5.5% vs 4.8%, aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.28-1.39) were significantly higher in the AUD cohort with prolonged stay, higher charges and frequent transfers than non-AUD cohort. CONCLUSION: AUD in the elderly prediabetes patients increases the stroke risk by up to 33% which can adversely influence the survival rate and healthcare infrastructure.

Prevalence, trends and in-hospital outcomes of takotsubo syndrome among United States cannabis users.

BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest a link between increased cannabis (marijuana) use and stress-cardiomyopathy (Takotsubo Syndrome, TTS) and related complications. Amidst recent trends in cannabis legalization and a paucity of data, it remains essential to evaluate the prevalence, trends and outcomes of TTS in cannabis users on a large-scale. METHOD: We studied prevalence and trends in TTS among adult cannabis users vs. non-users using the National Inpatient Sample (2007-2014). Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and in-hospital outcomes of TTS were compared between cannabis users vs. non-users. Weighted logistic regression was performed adjusting for confounders to estimate the inpatient outcomes of TTS with vs. without cannabis use. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of TTS in cannabis users (47/100,000) was lower as compared to non-users (62/100,000). Rising trends in TTS among cannabis users (<11 to 82, ~8-fold) were more pronounced as compared to non-users (19 to 108, ~6 fold) per 100,000 hospitalizations from 2007 to 2014 (ptrend<0.001). Of all inpatient encounters for TTS (n=156,506), 1565 (0.1%) reported cannabis use. Polysubstance use including alcohol (4.1% vs. 24.4%), cocaine (0.4% vs. 8.5%), amphetamine (0.2% vs. 8.0%), and smoking (31.2% vs. 64.8%) was significantly higher in TTS-cannabis cohort. Although cardiovascular comorbidities were lower in TTS-cannabis cohort, the adjusted odds of all-cause mortality (aOR1.50, p<.05) were 50% higher in cannabis users compared to non-users without statistically significant difference in cardiac complications. CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis users showed lower prevalence but a more pronounced rising trend of TTS and subsequent risk of in-hospital mortality compared to non-users.

Higher odds and rising trends in arrhythmia among young cannabis users with comorbid depression.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis (marijuana) use and depression are known to be strongly interconnected. However, amid alarming rates of mental health problems in the United States young population, the risk of arrhythmia among young cannabis users with comorbid depression has never been studied. METHODS: In-hospital encounters of arrhythmia were identified among young cannabis users (18-39 years) with or without depression using the National Inpatient Sample (2007-2014) databases and apposite ICD-9 codes. Baseline characteristics and trends in prevalence of arrhythmia were evaluated among inpatient young cannabis users with or without depression. A multivariable regression was performed after adjusting for baseline demographics, comorbidities and parallel history of substance abuse. RESULTS: Of 2,011,598 young cannabis users (59.6% male) admitted from 2007-2014, 190,146 (9.5%) of patients had comorbid depression, of which 6.9% of patients experienced arrhythmias with atrial fibrillation being most common. Cannabis users with depression were more likely older, white, females and frequently hospitalized in Midwest and rural hospitals. We observed a steadily rising trend in prevalence of arrhythmia in both groups, but a more rapid rise in cannabis users with depression (4.9% in 2007 to 8.5% in 2014 vs. 3.7% in 2007 to 5.7% in 2014). Correspondingly, young depressed cannabis users had higher odds of arrhythmia compared to non-depressed even after controlling for demographics and comorbidities (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.38-1.44, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Rampant recreational use of marijuana may increase the risk of arrhythmia by 40% in young cannabis users with depression as compared to non-depressed.