SARS-CoV-2 associated viral encephalitis
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 basal ganglia and thalami 1).
A case of a 29-year-old male with -on nasopharyngeal testing- confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with severe respiratory symptoms, followed by clinical and radiological signs of encephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed an asymmetric FLAIR-hyperintensity of the left medial temporal cortex associated with mild gyral expansion. Lumbar puncture was normal and PCR's for SARS-CoV-2 virus on CSF were negative. Clinicians treating SARS-CoV-2 infected patients should be aware of possible neurological complications, like encephalitis. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 encephalitis is difficult as CSF analysis may be normal. 2).
Picod A, Dinkelacker V, Savatovsky J, Trouiller P, Guéguen A, Engrand N. SARS-CoV-2-associated encephalitis: arguments for a post-infectious mechanism. Crit Care. 2020 Nov 23;24(1):658. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03389-1. PMID: 33228760; PMCID: PMC7682681 3).