BMJ Editorial: Neuropsychiatric complications of COVID-19 (13 October 2020)

Summary

From acute delirium to long term fatigue, COVID-19 has serious neuropsychiatric effects.

Viral infections of the respiratory tract can have multisystemic effects, including on the central nervous system (CNS), and thus may precipitate a spectrum of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Some patients with COVID-19 are now known to develop various CNS abnormalities with potentially serious and long term consequences, including stroke and isolated psychiatric syndromes.

As COVID-19 cases rise again worldwide, Butler et al. review what we know and don’t know about the acute and chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae and their potential mechanisms.