SARS-CoV-2 associated viral encephalitis with mortality outcome

Mohammed A Azab; Ahmed Y Azzam

doi:10.1016/j.inat.2021.101132

SARS-CoV-2 associated viral encephalitis with mortality outcome

Interdiscip Neurosurg. 2021 Sep:25:101132. doi: 10.1016/j.inat.2021.101132. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Authors

Mohammed A Azab^{1

2}, Ahmed Y Azzam^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Cairo University Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.
³ October 6 University Faculty of Medicine, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019; apart from common conditions such as cough, fever, and severe respiratory complications, difficulty in breathing, including tachypnea, new studies on neurological manifestations have gained public interest.

Case report: An 89-year-old man was admitted to the neurocritical care department in a specialized hospital with headache, dizziness, hyperpyrexia, myalgia, rash, and tremors. MRI showed viral encephalitis near to basal ganglia and thalami.

Discussion: Coronaviruses interfere with target cells by membrane-bound spike proteins. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 was identified as an input receptor for SARS-CoV-2. Due to its wide pattern of expression, COVID-19 was shown to affect several organs, including the central nervous system, where the receptor is mainly expressed as neurons.

Conclusions: In the current pandemic, there is a rising number of global infections, the aim of our case to increase the awareness about SARS-CoV-2 possible complications, even if there are possible further mutations for the virus, especially in the central nervous system.

Keywords: COVID-19; Encephalitis; Mortality; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Case Reports