Coronavirus affected patients show Neurological complications - A successful treatment at Visakhapatnam KIMS ICON Hospital

Visakhapatnam, November 19, 2020: When a person is affected with Coronavirus, along with cold, infection of variable severity in lungs is observed. Like in the case of earlier pandemics, neurological complications have been observed in the patients with Corona virus too. Symptoms like anosmia (loss of smell), ageusia (loss of taste), ataxia (imbalance on walking), seizures (fits), stroke are common neurological manifestations of COVID-19. A patient with severe neurological complications has been admitted to Visakhapatnam KIMS ICON Hospital and has been treated successfully.

A 58-year-old male patient with complaints of fever, cough, generalized weakness from about a week duration was brought to the hospital. RT - PCR was positive for COVID – 19. He is a known as diabetic on medication. He was started on regular treatment for COVID pneumonia. But during the course of the hospital stay the patient developed altered sensorium in the form of picking of clothes, irritability, and shouting from day 3. On clinical examination he was confused, agitated, not following verbal commands, and no focal neurological deficits with normal vital signs. MRI Brain was done which was suggestive of encephalitis. He was bedridden and on prolonged ventilation, so a tracheostomy was done.

After reviewing world literature with such presentation, a few patients improved with a drug called IV immunoglobulin were found. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a blood product prepared from the serum of between 1000 and 15 000 donors per batch. IVIG is used to treat various autoimmune, infectious, and idiopathic diseases. So, the same treatment was started for this patient and observed improvement in 3 to 5 days.  Two weeks after treatment patient recovered completely and he is independently walking without support.

Though the number of COVID cases is coming down, along with pulmonary complications, neurological symptoms like this are being observed. Identifying these symptoms and signs is important to start treatment and save the patient at the earliest.

Around 50 patients with similar complications were treated in KIMS ICON Hospital, Visakhapatnam. Patients with ischemic, hemorrhagic strokes, bells palsy, foot drop, encephalitis, seizures, encephalopathy, and many more have been treated successfully.

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