Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak became one of the most global health challenges in the recent century. Transverse myelitis is a rare medical condition reported in few case reports following COVID-19 infection. We present a 63 years old female with post-COVID...

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Main Authors: Babak Alijani, Alia Saberi, Parham Niyasti, Mohammad Haghani Dogahe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Amaltea Medical Publishing House 2021-06-01
Series:Romanian Journal of Neurology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://rjn.com.ro/articles/2021.2/RJN_2021_2_Art-22.pdf
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author Babak Alijani
Alia Saberi
Parham Niyasti
Mohammad Haghani Dogahe
author_facet Babak Alijani
Alia Saberi
Parham Niyasti
Mohammad Haghani Dogahe
author_sort Babak Alijani
collection DOAJ
description The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak became one of the most global health challenges in the recent century. Transverse myelitis is a rare medical condition reported in few case reports following COVID-19 infection. We present a 63 years old female with post-COVID-19 transverse myelitis. The patient had paraplegia combined with autonomic symptoms and T4 sensory level. Initial treatment started with methylprednisolone. Since the patient did not respond to the prednisolone, plasmapheresis was considered for the patient. Unfortunately, the patient could not tolerate the plasmapheresis. We considered rituximab for the next plan, but unfortunately, the patient died due to respiratory failure. To date, there is no published study to evaluate different mechanisms of post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis. However, the post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis mechanism seems to be heterogeneous; the activation of a silent autoimmune disease can probably justify some unusual clinical presentations of a viral illness. Further studies are needed to categorize the underlying mechanisms of post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis and effective treatments regarding the primary pathology.
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spelling doaj.art-1c4923dd6144479e9d13ca33d68d5f812024-03-21T14:38:16ZengAmaltea Medical Publishing HouseRomanian Journal of Neurology1843-81482069-60942021-06-0120225526310.37897/RJN.2021.2.22Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature reviewBabak Alijani0Alia Saberi1Parham Niyasti2Mohammad Haghani Dogahe3Road Trauma Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, IranNeuroscience Research Center, Department of Neurology, Poursina Hospital, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, IranDepartment of Neurology, Guilan University of Medical Science, Rasht, IranResearch Committee, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Science, Rasht, IranThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak became one of the most global health challenges in the recent century. Transverse myelitis is a rare medical condition reported in few case reports following COVID-19 infection. We present a 63 years old female with post-COVID-19 transverse myelitis. The patient had paraplegia combined with autonomic symptoms and T4 sensory level. Initial treatment started with methylprednisolone. Since the patient did not respond to the prednisolone, plasmapheresis was considered for the patient. Unfortunately, the patient could not tolerate the plasmapheresis. We considered rituximab for the next plan, but unfortunately, the patient died due to respiratory failure. To date, there is no published study to evaluate different mechanisms of post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis. However, the post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis mechanism seems to be heterogeneous; the activation of a silent autoimmune disease can probably justify some unusual clinical presentations of a viral illness. Further studies are needed to categorize the underlying mechanisms of post/para COVID-19 transverse myelitis and effective treatments regarding the primary pathology.https://rjn.com.ro/articles/2021.2/RJN_2021_2_Art-22.pdftransverse myelitissars-cov-2post/para covid-19autoimmune mechanism
spellingShingle Babak Alijani
Alia Saberi
Parham Niyasti
Mohammad Haghani Dogahe
Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
Romanian Journal of Neurology
transverse myelitis
sars-cov-2
post/para covid-19
autoimmune mechanism
title Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
title_full Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
title_fullStr Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
title_full_unstemmed Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
title_short Transverse myelitis following COVID-19 infection. What is the mechanism? A case report and literature review
title_sort transverse myelitis following covid 19 infection what is the mechanism a case report and literature review
topic transverse myelitis
sars-cov-2
post/para covid-19
autoimmune mechanism
url https://rjn.com.ro/articles/2021.2/RJN_2021_2_Art-22.pdf
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AT aliasaberi transversemyelitisfollowingcovid19infectionwhatisthemechanismacasereportandliteraturereview
AT parhamniyasti transversemyelitisfollowingcovid19infectionwhatisthemechanismacasereportandliteraturereview
AT mohammadhaghanidogahe transversemyelitisfollowingcovid19infectionwhatisthemechanismacasereportandliteraturereview