Neurological Adverse Effects Following Administration of COVID-19 Vaccination: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction During the previous year, a variety of serious neurological problems associated with the COVID-19 vaccination have been documented, including encephalopathy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, transverse myelitis, and Bell’s palsy. Objective In the current study, neurological complications reported post-COVID-19 vaccination were systematically reviewed. The current meta-analysis aims to provide clinicians with a comprehensive understanding of this uncommon adverse event. Method Web of Science, MEDLINE on OVID, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched for English-language papers published after January 1, 2020. Result Thirty articles were included in this study (21 case series and 9 cohort studies). The studies comprised 22,780 patients who got COVID-19 vaccinations and had at least 1 neurological adverse event. Across the majority of event types, females (54%) reported more adverse events than males (40%). The median duration from vaccination to the development of neurological symptoms was 12 days (0-41 days) in case series studies and 10 days (0-30 days) in cohort studies. Stroke is by far the most common neurological side effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, followed by Bell’s palsy and seizures. Conclusion Concerns regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations are being backed up by a growing number of studies that demonstrate neurological side effects.