Executive dysfunctions in patients recovering from Covid-19

Abstract

Background COVID-19 is recognized as a multi-organ disease that can affect many organs either during the acute stage of infection or even after recovery. These are part of the post COVID-19 syndrome. Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as cognitive impairments are part of them and include memory difficulties, executive functions impairments, and trouble focusing. However cognitive profile in these patients is still not precise and underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Besides, most studies were performed in western or Asian countries. Almost no studies were performed in African or Arab countries. The aim of our study was to assess neuropsychiatric and cognitive disorders in Tunisian patients who recovered from Covid-19. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the months of May and June 2021, including patients one month after discharge from the pneumology ward in Mongi Slim Hospital in Marsa Tunisia. They all were hospitalized there for COVID-19 infection. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records and through interviewing patients directly. To assess cognitive impairment, we used: Mini Mental State (MMS), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), Trail Making Test (TMT), and the maze task. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were also screened using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression. Results Twenty patients were included in the study, with 65% males. There were 14 patients with at least one cognitive dysfunction, which represents 70% of the sample. Three patients had less than the cut off score on the MMS and 8 patients on the FAB (showing respectively memory and executive impairment). On the TMT and the maze task, respectively 5 and 9 patients had abnormal timing scores. Conclusion Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 may show cognitive impairment shortly after discharge. Memory and executive functions are the most affected domains. For better management of these patients, screening for cognitive disorders in post COVID is vividly recommended. Long term studies are needed to check whether these impairments remain after the early phase.