A Case of Acute Necrotizing Encephalitis Following Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection—A Rare Presentation

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) results from infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Typical presentations include fever, shortness of breath, and cough though neurological manifestations have been rarely reported. Acute necrotizing encephalitis is a rare manifestation of COVID-19 and can be associated with devastating neurological outcomes. Difficulty in timely acquisition of neuroimaging and high rates of early mortality in these patients hinder timely diagnosis. In this clinicoradiological syndrome, patients suffer from rapidly worsening encephalopathy in first 2 weeks of illness and necrotizing parenchymal changes on neuroimaging. The pathophysiology is hypothesized to occur due to cytokine storm, blood–brain-barrier dysfunction, and viral-mediated immune dysregulation leading to endotheliopathy. Early immunomodulatory treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and steroids is associated with a favorable outcome. Here, we report a one-and-half-year-old boy who presented with fever, seizures, and decreased activity since 3 days. He was noted to have hypertonia in all four limbs with exaggerated deep tendon reflexes. Nasopharyngeal reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 was positive. Magnetic resonance imaging brain was suggestive of acute necrotizing encephalopathy. Patient was treated with steroids.

Keywords

acute necrotizing encephalitis - COVID-19 - immunomodulatory treatment

Publication History

Received: 14 May 2022

Accepted: 08 August 2022

Article published online:
14 November 2022

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