Posterior Reversible Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome in a Patient after Acute COVID-19 Infection.
- Resource Type
- Report
- Authors
- Kobaidze K; Associate Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine 550 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.; Shin YM; Division of Hospital Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.; Japaridze M; Ross University School of Medicine, New Jersey, USA.; Karakis I; Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.; Wu X; Department of Radiology and Imaging Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
- Source
- Publisher: Hindawi Pub. Corp Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101576451 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 2090-6668 (Print) Linking ISSN: 20906676 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Case Rep Neurol Med Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2090-6668
The SARS-CoV-2 infection affects numerous organs, including the central nervous system. The neuroinvasive abilities and neuroinflammation may lead to short- and long-term neurological manifestations. Among neurological disorders associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has been described in a few case-based observational studies during the acute phase of COVID-19 hospitalization. We present a case of a patient who developed seizures and PRES after recovering from an acute severe COVID-19 infection. A 90-year-old African American female with multiple comorbidities and a severe COVID-19 infection was discharged home in stable condition after two weeks of hospitalization. A week later, she developed new-onset generalized tonic-clonic seizures requiring readmission to the hospital. The patient's clinical course and brain imaging supported PRES. Her mentation returned to baseline with supportive care and anticonvulsant treatment. Follow-up brain MRI four months later demonstrated resolution of FLAIR signal abnormalities confirming PRES. SARS-CoV-2 insult on the cerebrovascular endothelial cells likely continued and despite the clinical recovery eventually resulted in PRES. We believe that this is the first case describing the presentation of PRES after recovery from severe acute COVID-19 infection.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright © 2021 Ketino Kobaidze et al.)