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Acute/ Subacute and Chronic Neuroimaging Findings of COVID-19: A Systematic Review
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  • Shirin Yaghoobpoor,
  • Mobina Fathi,
  • Kimia Vakili,
  • Fatemeh Sayehmiri,
  • Ramtin Hajibeygi,
  • Hossein Hasooni,
  • Mahsa Heidari-Foroozan,
  • Diba Akbarzadeh,
  • Vijay Sawlani,
  • Mehran Anjomrooz,
  • Arian Tavasol,
  • Mohammadreza Hajiesmaeili
Shirin Yaghoobpoor
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Mobina Fathi
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Kimia Vakili
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Fatemeh Sayehmiri
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Ramtin Hajibeygi
Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Hossein Hasooni
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Mahsa Heidari-Foroozan
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Diba Akbarzadeh
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Vijay Sawlani
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
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Mehran Anjomrooz
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
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Arian Tavasol
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Mohammadreza Hajiesmaeili
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
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Abstract

COVID-19, a predominantly respiratory infection, is demonstrated to cause neurologic complications even in the recovery phase. This systematic review aims to investigate the neuroimaging findings in Acute/ Subacute and Chronic or Post-COVID-19 patients. We searched the online databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using relevant keywords up to December, 2021. We included all observational studies reporting neuroimaging findings in confirmed COVID-19 patients, during acute/subacute or chronic phase. We included 25 studies in our study. Structural and functional neuroimaging modalities, mainly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and computed tomography (CT), were applied in COVID patients with valuable findings to detect the neural alterations in the brain. Hypometabolism in various regions of the brain, especially the hippocampus, parahippocampus, entorhinal cortices, cingulate, and frontal cortices as well as pons and thalamus were among findings reported in post-COVID patients. In addition, anatomical alterations in different areas of the brain including the thalamus, pons, cingulate cortex, corpus callosum, and Globus pallidus were reported. Such findings can justify several post-COVID neurological symptoms or complications. Structural and functional neuroimaging in COVID and post-COVID patients potentially can show alterations which can help in follow up of patients.