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Background and purpose Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a small but clinically significant risk of stroke, the cause of which is frequently cryptogenic. In a large multinational cohort of consecutive COVID-19 patients with stroke, we evaluated clinical predictors of cryptogenic stroke, short-term functional outcomes and in-hospital mortality among patients according to stroke etiology. Methods We explored clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes of consecutively evaluated patients 18 years of age or older with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from 31 hospitals in 4 countries (3/1/20–6/16/20). Results Of the 14.483 laboratory-confirmed patients with COVID-19, 156 (1.1%) were diagnosed with AIS. Sixty-one (39.4%) were female, 84 (67.2%) white, and 88 (61.5%) were between 60 and 79 years of age. The most frequently reported etiology of AIS was cryptogenic (55/129, 42.6%), which was associated with significantly higher white blood cell count, c-reactive protein, and D-dimer levels than non-cryptogenic AIS patients (pp = 0.01). In that model, older age (aOR 2.05 per decade, 95%CI 1.35–3.11, p p = 0.01) were also independently predictive of mortality. Conclusions Our findings suggest that cryptogenic stroke among COVID-19 patients carries a significant risk of early mortality.

[Background] Anosmia is common in Coronavirus disease 2019, but its impact on prognosis is unknown. We analysed whether anosmia predicts in-hospital mortality; and if patients with anosmia have a different clinical presentation, inflammatory response, or disease severity., [Methods] Retrospective cohort study including all consecutive hospitalized patients with confirmed Covid-19 from March 8th to April 11th, 2020. We determined all-cause mortality and need of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We registered the first and worst laboratory parameters. Statistical analysis was done by multivariate logistic and linear regression., [Results] We included 576 patients, 43.3% female, and aged 67.2 years in mean. Anosmia was present in 146 (25.3%) patients. Patients with anosmia were more frequently females, younger and less disabled and had less frequently hypertension, diabetes, smoking habit, cardiac and neurological comorbidities. Anosmia was independently associated with lower mortality (OR: 0.180, 95% CI: 0.069–0.472) and ICU admission (OR: 0.438, 95% CI: 0.229–0.838, p = 0.013). In the multivariate analysis, patients with anosmia had a higher frequency of cough (OR: 1.96, 95%CI: 1.18–3.28), headache (OR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.66–4.03), and myalgia (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.12–2.71). They had higher adjusted values of hemoglobin (+0.87, 95% CI: 0.40–1.34), lymphocytes (+849.24, 95% CI: 157.45–1541.04), glomerular filtration rate (+6.42, 95% CI: 2.14–10.71), and lower D-dimer (−4886.52, 95% CI: −8655.29-(−1117.75)), and C-reactive protein (−24.92, 95% CI: −47.35-(−2.48))., [Conclusions] Hospitalized Covid-19 patients with anosmia had a lower adjusted mortality rate and less severe course of the disease. This could be related to a distinct clinical presentation and a different inflammatory response.

Introduction: Headache is one of the most frequent neurologic manifestations in COVID-19. We aimed to analyze which symptoms and laboratory abnormalities were associated with the presence of headache and to evaluate if patients with headache had a higher adjusted in-hospital risk of mortality. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. We included all consecutive patients admitted to the Hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 8th and April 11th, 2020. We collected demographic data, clinical variables and laboratory abnormalities. We used multivariate regression analysis. Results: During the study period, 576 patients were included, aged 67.2 (SD: 14.7), and 250/576 (43.3%) being female. Presence of headache was described by 137 (23.7%) patients. The all-cause in-hospital mortality rate was 127/576 (20.0%). In the multivariate analysis, patients with headache had a lower risk of mortality (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.17–0.88, p = 0.007). After adjusting for multiple comparisons in a multivariate analysis, variables that were independently associated with a higher odds of having headache in COVID-19 patients were anosmia, myalgia, female sex and fever; variables that were associated with a lower odds of having headache were younger age, lower score on modified Rankin scale, and, regarding laboratory variables on admission, increased C-reactive protein, abnormal platelet values, lymphopenia and increased D-dimer. Conclusion: Headache is a frequent symptom in COVID-19 patients and its presence is an independent predictor of lower risk of mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) might present neurologic symptoms. We aimed to evaluate the frequency and type of neurologic symptoms in patients with Covid-19 at the moment of emergency department (ED) visit, and their impact in the prognosis. Methods: Retrospective cohort study including all consecutive confirmed Covid-19 cases that were hospitalized between March 8th and April 11th, 2020. We compared, in patients with and without neurological symptoms on admission, demographic, clinical presentation, and frequency and type of abnormal laboratory values. We analyzed the variables that were associated with in-hospital all-cause mortality by Cox-regression log rank test. Results: We included 576 patients, 250 (43·3%) female, aged 67·2 years in mean. At the moment of ED visit, 320 (55·6%) patients described neurologic symptoms, including anosmia in 146 (25·3%), myalgia in 139 (24·1%), headache in 137 (23·8%) and altered mental status in 98 (17·0%). In those patients, neurologic symptoms started the first day of symptoms in 198 (54·2%) cases. Patients with neurologic symptoms presented later to the ED (7·9 vs. 6·6 days, p=0·019). In patients with neurologic symptoms, only four (0·6%) cases had not typical Covid-19 general symptoms and only six (1·9%) had a normal laboratory results at the moment of ED presentation, for a sensitivity of 98·7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 96·6-99·6%) and 98·1% (95% CI: 95·7-99·2%), respectively. In the multivariate Cox-regression analysis of mortality predictors, anosmia (HR: 0·358, 95%CI: 0·140-0·916) and altered mental status (HR: 1·867, 95%CI: 1·162-3·001) remained statistically significant. Conclusion: Neurologic symptoms were the most frequent extrapulmonary symptoms. They were present in half of the patients with Covid-19 at the time of the ED visit. In almost all of the cases, typical Covid-19 general symptoms and/or laboratory abnormalities were present. The presence of neurologic symptoms at the moment of ED presentation was an independent predictor of mortality. Funding Statement: The present study did not have any specific source of funding. Declaration of Interests: Authors declare not to have any conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the local ethics review board (PI-20-1751), which waived the need of written informed consent.

A study was conducted to categorize harvest stage, maximun dry weigth and tolerance to desiccation at low temperature storage of seeds of the promising species "andean blueberry", Vaccinium meridionale Swartz. The aim was to determine the long term conservation possibility of a duplicate of the current Colombian Andean Highland field collection in cool storage rooms, as well as that of newly collected local populations from the mentioned highland region, which are in danger of genetic erosion due to human intervention and the ongoing global climate change. Both maximum dry weight and the highest germination percentages were observed to be associated in seeds extracted from deep purple (fully ripe) berries. The seeds exhibited orthodox storage behavior, which indicates the possibility for long-term cold storage of a duplicate of the current metapopulation of the species in the country.Resumen. Se realizó un estudio para categorizar el estado de cosecha, máximo peso seco de la semilla y la tolerancia de ésta a la desecación y almacenamiento a bajas temperaturas, en la especie promisoria mortiño, Vaccinium meridionale Swartz. El objetivo fue establecer el potencial de conservar un duplicado de la colección de campo y rescatar y almacenar poblaciones espontáneas de la zona alto andina colombiana, en peligro de pérdida por intervención humana y el cambio climático, que pueden causar erosión de la diversidad genética de la especie. El máximo peso seco se logró a partir de semillas extraídas de bayas de color morado oscuro, con obtención de germinación superior en éstas y una relación directa entre el peso seco y el porcentaje de germinación. La semilla exhibió comportamiento ortodoxo, lo cual indica la posibilidad de almacenamiento a largo plazo de un duplicado de la metapoblación de la especie, existente en el país.