Cerebral Microembolism in Patient with COVID-19

Main Article Content

Elif Ünal
Bilgin Öztürk
Uğur Burak Şimşek
Ali Rıza Sonkaya
Ömer Karadaş

Abstract

Objective: Coronavirus-2019 (Covid-19) was first observed in December 2019 and recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Apart from respiratory symptoms, neurological, dermatological, and gastrointestinal symptoms can also occur in humans. Some neurological symptoms may be caused by microembolism. The present study aims to determine the presence of microemboli in patients with Covid-19 using Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography and examine its correlation with D-Dimer levels.


Material and Methods: This study involved 20 hospitalized patients diagnosed with Covid-19 using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. D-Dimer results of the patients were recorded and analyzed within two groups (First group: D-Dimer < 1 mg/L, and second group: D-Dimer ≥ 1 mg/L). The middle cerebral arteries were bilaterally examined with TCD to screen for microemboli. Patients were classified into two groups based on the number of MES (first group: 0-3 MES (n=10), second group: ≥ 4 MES).


Results: Cerebral arterial microemboli were observed in patients with Covid-19. The relationship between D-Dimer and emboli was investigated, and the presence of microemboli was found to be statistically significant in both the low D-Dimer value group (p < 0.001) and the high D-Dimer value group (p < 0.003). Furthermore, D-Dimer results were found to be higher in the group with a greater number of microemboli (p < 0.001).


Conclusions: Microemboli were detected in the cerebral arteries of Covid-19 patients, even in the absence of neurological symptoms. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between high D-Dimer levels and the presence of cerebral microemboli. Therefore, physicians should assess the presence of microemboli in Covid-19 patients and determine appropriate treatment methods accordingly.

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Article Details

How to Cite
Ünal, E., Öztürk, B., Şimşek, U. B., Sonkaya, A. R., & Karadaş, Ömer. (2023). Cerebral Microembolism in Patient with COVID-19 . Medical Science and Discovery, 10(5), 353–356. https://doi.org/10.36472/msd.v10i5.943
Section
Research Article
Received 2023-05-01
Accepted 2023-05-21
Published 2023-05-26

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