Objective: To review the impact of Covid 19 on symptoms and signs of Parkinsons as well as general being in patients with Parkinson’s Disease at Reading, England, United Kingdom.

Background: The neurological symptoms of Covid are attributed to the immune response and inflammation in response to the virus.  This inflammation may result in long term sequelae and accelerated clinical deterioration in patients with neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s Disease.

Method: Patients with a positive PCR swab for SARS-CoV2 in the period September 2020 to May 2021 were identified by the Informatics department. Subsequently telephone and face to face interviews were conducted by clinicians and responses were recorded on a proforma which was later exported to an excel sheet for analysis .

Results: 35 patients were included in the study.60% (21/35) of patients had died at the time when interviews were conducted in December 2021. The average age amongst survivors was 76 years (59-88 years) whilst 71%(10/14)  were male with average duration of disease was 8.1 years( 11-17 years). 50% (7/14) were diagnosed in the hospital. Nearly a quarter of the patients needed augmentation of their Levodopa therapy by 150 mg. 42% of the patients (6/14) required oxygen or Non Invasive Ventilation. The most common symptoms distressing patients post CoVid 19 were fatigue (55%), weight loss (44%) & troubling concentrating (33%) while cardiorespiratory symptoms were less frequent (palpitations 14%, breathlessness 7%, chest pain 7%). Neither the increase in Levodopa dosage nor the post covid symptoms correlated with the severity of CoVid. Amongst Parkinson’s symptoms, worsening mobility was noted in 88% whilst 72% (10/14) developed unsteadiness and 29% (4/14) sustained a fall. Worsening of neuropsychiatric features was noted in 50% (7/14) and a minority 15 %( 2/14) noted problems related to speech and swallowing.

Conclusion: COVID19 infection in Parkinson’s is associated with a high mortality as patients are often frailer and have other comorbidities. In our study, the sequelae of post viral infection is associated with mild worsening of motor symptoms but primarily associated with increased fatigability and weight loss. There were no significant worsening of cardiorespiratory symptoms. Clinicians need to be vigilant about ‘‘Long COVID’’ symptoms and consider referral to appropriate services to improve quality of care of patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/impact-of-covid-19-on-parkinsons-disease-a-cross-sectional-study/