Patients with COVID-19 and neurological manifestations show undetectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases Vol. 96; pp. 567 - 569
• Main Authors: Espíndola, Otávio de Melo, Siqueira, Marilda, Soares, Cristiane Nascimento, Lima, Marco Antonio Sales Dantas de, Leite, Ana Claudia Celestino Bezerra, Araujo, Abelardo Queiroz Campos, Brandão, Carlos Otávio, Silva, Marcus Tulius Teixeira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2020; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases; Elsevier
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus; Cerebrospinal fluid; Coronavirus Infections - cerebrospinal fluid; Coronavirus Infections - diagnosis; Coronavirus Infections - physiopathology; COVID-19; Humans; Nervous System Diseases - virology; Neurological manifestations; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - cerebrospinal fluid; Pneumonia, Viral - diagnosis; Pneumonia, Viral - physiopathology; RNA, Viral - cerebrospinal fluid; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 RNA; COVID-19; Neurological manifestations; Cerebrospinal fluid; SARS-CoV-2 RNA; RT-PCR
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.123

•SARS-CoV-2 RNA is mainly undetectable in the cerebrospinal fluid.•SARS-CoV-2 clearance in the cerebrospinal fluid may precede the neurological involvement.•Common neuropathogens should be investigated in the CSF of COVID-19 patients. We report that patients with COVID-19 displaying distinct neurological disorders have undetectable or extremely low levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid, indicating that viral clearance precede the neurological involvement. This finding points to the need for the development of more sensitive molecular tests and the investigation of other neurotropic pathogens to exclude concurrent neuroinfection.