ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Immunization against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in January 2021 in Iran; nonetheless, due to a lack of vaccination among children under 12, this age group is still at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its complications. CASE PRESENTATION: SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in a 6-year-old girl who had previously been healthy but had developed a fever and pancytopenia. The bone marrow aspiration/biopsy demonstrated just hypocellular marrow without signs of leukemia. She was worked up for primary and secondary causes of pancytopenia. Except for a repeated reactive HIV antibody/Ag P24 assay, all test results were inconclusive. After a thorough diagnostic investigation, the cross-reactivity of the HIV antibody/Ag P24 test with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was confirmed. The patient did not develop any COVID-19-related signs and symptoms, but she did get a severe invasive fungal infection and neutropenic enterocolitis. She died as a result of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. CONCLUSION: It is critical to recognize children infected with SARS-CoV-2 who exhibit atypical clinical manifestations of COVID-19, such as persistent pancytopenia. SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause severe and deadly consequences in children; thus, pediatricians should be aware of COVID-19's unusual signs and symptoms mimicking other conditions such as aplastic anemia.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Aplastic , COVID-19 , Enterocolitis, Neutropenic , HIV Infections , Invasive Fungal Infections , Pancytopenia , Anemia, Aplastic/etiology , Bone Marrow/pathology , COVID-19/complications , Child , Enterocolitis, Neutropenic/complications , Female , HIV Infections/complications , Humans , Invasive Fungal Infections/complications , Pancytopenia/diagnosis , Pancytopenia/etiology , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Various conditions, including infections, can cause telogen effluvium (TE). One of them is coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), where hair loss usually begins between 2 and 12 weeks after the illness. TE can be acute or chronic, and the chronic type can be intermittent. Here, we present the case of a 17-year-old girl with severe and widespread hair loss following an upper respiratory infection suspected to be COVID-19, with the patient having a history of such attacks since childhood. Evidence from biopsy and dermoscopy indicated a diagnosis of TE.