The association of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury to acute and long COVID-19 outcomes.
Benjamin A Abramoff, Claudia Hentschel, Ingram A Dillingham and 4 others
PMID 38145343WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with MS, TBI, or SCI had no higher risk of death or longer stays than matched controls, but those with SCI were hospitalized more often.
Across all three groups, MS and TBI patients showed higher odds of post-COVID weakness, mobility issues, and cognitive dysfunction.
Key findings
01Patients with MS, TBI, or SCI had no significant difference in length of stay, number of hospitalizations, or mortality compared to matched controls.
02Those with spinal cord injury were significantly more likely to be hospitalized for acute COVID-19 and experienced more hospitalizations in the six months following diagnosis.
03Patients with MS, TBI, or SCI had higher odds of post-COVID weakness, mobility difficulties, and cognitive dysfunction than controls, even after adjusting for pre-existing symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied on ICD-10 codes, which cannot capture the severity or specific nature of physical and cognitive impairments within each diagnosis group. Unmeasured confounders like socioeconomic status and insurance coverage may have influenced outcomes, as this data was incomplete in the database. Controls may have had other premorbid disabling conditions not captured by the tracer diagnoses, potentially underestimating the true effect of disability. The sample only included individuals who had a lab-confirmed positive test and encountered the healthcare system, excluding those with undocumented infections or limited access to care. The study cannot determine whether post-COVID symptoms represent new sequelae or exacerbation of underlying disease progression, particularly in MS.
Declared interests
Research support was provided by the National Institutes of Health (Extramural). No specific financial conflicts of interest with commercial entities were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that MS, TBI, or SCI patients are at higher risk of death or prolonged acute hospitalization from COVID-19 compared to matched controls. The study found no significant differences in mortality or length of stay; the increased hospitalization risk was specific to spinal cord injury and driven by higher baseline comorbidity burden rather than the disability itself.