The infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus called COVID-19 may affect not only the respiratory system but also the central nervous system (CNS). Delirium is a frequent and serious condition in COVID-19 patients and may be caused by the direct invasion of the CNS or the induction of CNS inflammatory mediators or by indirect effects due to the systemic inflammatory status, other organ failure, prolonged mechanical ventilation time, immobilization but also social isolation. We aim to critically review literature reporting this syndrome in patients infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus with a particular emphasis on reported clinical, laboratorial and neuroimaging findings. Methods: A state-of-the-art literature review was performed using PubMed, Embase and Web of Knowledge using the following keywords: delirium, COVID-19, SARS-Cov-2, neuroimaging, laboratorial findings. Results: More than 50% of patients with COVID-19 may present with delirium and in about 20% of the cases this is the primary presentation of the disorder. Previous data suggests that these patients may show a higher frequency of certain symptoms such as agitation, myoclonus, abulia, and alogia. Some distinct neuroinflammatory syndromes have been identified in patients presenting with delirium associated with the virus, namely, autoimmune encephalitis, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and stroke showing its potential for CNS involvement. Many of these patients present normal brain imaging, EEG and CSF findings but others have more specific laboratorial changes such as elevated creatinine kinase, elevated D-dimer levels, abnormal coagulation parameters and positive SARS-Cov-2 PCR in CSF or meningeal enhancement, ischemic stroke and perfusion changes in MRI imaging.

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This study aims to report the clinical features of a cohort of patients with suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from Tobruk, Libya, and reflect upon the diagnosis challenge in low-resource settings.

A descriptive report of the first 100 patients with suspected COVID-19 who have visited the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19 screening clinic at the National Centre for Disease Control in Tobruk, Libya.

The most common presenting symptoms were fever (90%), cough (89%), dyspnea (85%), sore throat (79%), fatigue (78%), headache (64%), loss of smell (52%), loss of taste (53%), loss of appetite (43%), nausea and vomiting (26%), diarrhea (22%), and rhinorrhea (16%); 51% of the patients had lymphocytopenia, whereas 13% had thrombocytopenia. Bilateral infiltrates were the most common radiologic finding on chest X-ray (76%), and COVID-19 IgM and/or IgG antibodies were detected in 80% of the patients, whereas only 37% of the patients were tested positive by the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

The disease continued its spread across the region. Fever, cough, and dyspnea were the main symptoms; 21% of the patients did not have any chest X-ray abnormalities. Initial negative results for either antibody testing or RT-PCR-testing for COVID-19 do not rule out the infection.