Abstract

Background

COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus SARS-CoV-2. It is widely recognized as a respiratory pathogen, but neurologic complications can be the presenting manifestation in a subset of infected patients.

Case presentation

We describe a 78-year old immunocompromised woman who presented with altered mental status after witnessed seizure-like activity at home. She was found to have SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated neuroinflammation. In this case, we undertake the first detailed analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokines during COVID-19 infection and find a unique pattern of inflammation in CSF, but no evidence of viral neuroinvasion.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that neurologic symptoms such as encephalopathy and seizures may be the initial presentation of COVID-19. Central nervous system inflammation may associate with neurologic manifestations of disease.

Details

Title
Acute encephalopathy with elevated CSF inflammatory markers as the initial presentation of COVID-19
Author
Farhadian, Shelli  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Glick, Laura R; Vogels, Chantal B F; Thomas, Jared; Chiarella, Jennifer; Casanovas-Massana, Arnau; Zhou, Jing; Odio, Camila; Vijayakumar, Pavithra; Geng, Bertie; Fournier, John; Santos Bermejo; Fauver, Joseph R; Alpert, Tara; Wyllie, Anne L; Turcotte, Cynthia; Steinle, Matthew; Paczkowski, Patrick; Charles Dela Cruz; Wilen, Craig; Ko, Albert I; MacKay, Sean; Grubaugh, Nathan D; Spudich, Serena; Lydia Aoun Barakat
Pages
1-5
Section
Case report
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
e-ISSN
14712377
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-020-01812-2
ProQuest document ID
2414886902
Copyright
© 2020. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.