covid-19 and neuromuscular involvement: a case series and brief review of literature

Background: tough covid-19 predominantly affects the respiratory tract, and extra-pulmonary manifestations, including neuromuscular complaints have been associated with this disorder. it is vital to monitor covid-19 cases for the occurrence of neuromuscular disorders (nmds), which could be overshadowed by severe respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms. in this study, we reported electrophysiological findings of a series of covid-19 patients with complaints of paresthesia and weakness.methods: in this case series, the electrodiagnostic studies (edx) of 36 patients with recent complaints of weakness or paresthesia and a history of covid-19 before symptoms were reported.results: 12 cases (33.3%) had abnormal edx, five males and seven females, with a mean age of 51.42±11.49 years, history of hospitalization in five cases (41.7%), and icu admission in four (33.3%). seven cases were concluded as having a predominantly axonal type polyneuropathy (five sensory-motor and two sensory polyneuropathies). of these seven, one was suggestive of critical illness neuropathy (cin). three cases demonstrated a myopathic pattern with a history of icu admission, hence the impression of critical illness myopathy (cim). in addition, one of these three, developed both myopathy and neuropathy and thus, is considered as having cim/n. one case was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (cidp). the last case demonstrated an inflammatory involvement of lumbosacral roots (covid-19-related radiculitis).conclusion: covid-19 could be associated with a wide range of nmds. in this study, the presence of axonal polyneuropathy, cidp, and myopathy was demonstrated following sar-cov-2 infection. also, cin/m was observed in covid-19 patients with a history of icu admission.