Assessment of Executive Functions After Covid-19

May Covid-19 Impair Executive Functions? A Crossectional Study

As it is evident that Covid-19 may have some impacts on cognition, the primary aim of this study is to investigate -if any- deficits of attention, working memory and executive functions after Covid-19.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Covid19; Cognitive Impairment

Detailed Description

Since Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease-2019) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, it is still widespread and deadly. As an ongoing pandemic, it has led to a panic and then a controlled fear in societies. In many studies, neuropsychological deficits were observed in Covid-19 patients both during the illness and after recovery. A recent study found that impairment in cognitive functions continued after recovery of Covid-19, and it was associated with peripherical inflammatory markers, such as C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP, as a peripherical inflammatory marker, has been proven to be inversely related to serum levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an important neurotrophin in the growth and differentiation of neurons. In this study, attention, working memory and executive functions of Covid-19 patients at post-covid period and its relation with the severity of the disease will be investigated.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 128

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Diyarbakır, Turkey, 21070
    • Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

In this study, 50 healthcare personnel diagnosed as Covid-19 by RT-PCR treated at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Gazi Yaşargil Tranining and Research Hospital, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Diyarbakır, have been randomly recorded and followed up for 60 days, and age, sex, education level and professionally matched 50 healthy subjects randomly recruited from the personnel of the same hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Covid-19 patients:

• Diagnosed as Covid-19 by RT-PCR at least 60 days but not more than 90 days ago
• Asymptomatic at the moment
• Not having any other general medical, neurological or psychiatric conditions except Covid-19 at the time of acute infection

Healthy subjects:

• Not having any of Covid-19 symptoms at the testing time point
• Not having any general medical, neurological or psychiatric condition

Exclusion Criteria:

Covid-19 patients:

• Diagnosed as Covid-19 by RT-PCR less than 60 days or more than 90 days ago
• Having any symptom of acute phase of Covid-19
• Having any other general medical, neurlogical or psychiatric contidions

Healthy subjects:

• Having any of Covid-19 symptoms at the testing time point
• Having any general medical, neurological or psychiatric condition

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Patients; Subjects who have been Covid positive by RT-PCR at least 60 days ago and not having any symptoms of Covid-19 at the moment
Healthy; Subjects who do not have any general medical, neurological or psychiatric disorder

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Neuropsychological test scores	Neuropsychological test scores of Covid-19 patients in comparison with healthy control subjects	Up to 90 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Severity of the disease	Neuropsychological test score changes according to the disease severity of Covid-19 patients	Up to 90 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mehmet D Güleken, MD, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Wilson BA, Betteridge S, Fish J. Neuropsychological consequences of Covid-19. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2020 Oct;30(9):1625-1628. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2020.1808483. No abstract available.
• Zhou H, Lu S, Chen J, Wei N, Wang D, Lyu H, Shi C, Hu S. The landscape of cognitive function in recovered COVID-19 patients. J Psychiatr Res. 2020 Oct;129:98-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.06.022. Epub 2020 Jun 30.
• Guo Q, Zheng Y, Shi J, Wang J, Li G, Li C, Fromson JA, Xu Y, Liu X, Xu H, Zhang T, Lu Y, Chen X, Hu H, Tang Y, Yang S, Zhou H, Wang X, Chen H, Wang Z, Yang Z. Immediate psychological distress in quarantined patients with COVID-19 and its association with peripheral inflammation: A mixed-method study. Brain Behav Immun. 2020 Aug;88:17-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.038. Epub 2020 May 19.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 30, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 22, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 9, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 2, 2021
• Last Verified: November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; COVID-19
• Other Study ID Numbers: 21022021

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All the data of the participants is being declared as it will be preserved, in the informed consent at the point of enrollment

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No