ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, has recently been associated with a myriad of hematologic derangements; in particular, an unusually high incidence of venous thromboembolism has been reported in patients with COVID-19 infection. It is postulated that either the cytokine storm induced by the viral infection or endothelial damage caused by viral binding to the ACE-2 receptor may activate a cascade leading to a hypercoaguable state. Although pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis have been well described in patients with COVID-19 infection, there is a paucity of literature on cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (cVST) associated with COVID-19 infection. cVST is an uncommon etiology of stroke and has a higher occurrence in women and young people. We report a series of three patients at our institution with confirmed COVID-19 infection and venous sinus thrombosis, two of whom were male and one female. These cases fall outside the typical demographic of patients with cVST, potentially attributable to COVID-19 induced hypercoaguability. This illustrates the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for cVST in patients with COVID-19 infection, particularly those with unexplained cerebral hemorrhage, or infarcts with an atypical pattern for arterial occlusive disease.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/complications , Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/etiology , Stroke/etiology , Thromboembolism/etiology , Venous Thrombosis/etiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/therapy , Fatal Outcome , Female , Humans , Male , Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/diagnostic imaging , Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial/therapy , Stroke/diagnostic imaging , Stroke/therapy , Thromboembolism/diagnostic imaging , Thromboembolism/therapy , Treatment Outcome , Venous Thrombosis/diagnostic imaging , Venous Thrombosis/therapyABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with ischemic stroke as well as systemic complications such as acute respiratory failure; cytotoxic edema is a well-known sequelae of acute ischemic stroke and can be worsened by the presence of hypercarbia induced by respiratory failure. We present the case of a very rapid neurologic and radiographic decline of a patient with an acute ischemic stroke who developed rapid fulminant cerebral edema leading to herniation in the setting of hypercarbic respiratory failure attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the elevated incidence of cerebrovascular complications in patients with COVID-19, it is imperative for clinicians to be aware of the risk of rapidly progressive cerebral edema in patients who develop COVID-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Subject(s)
Brain Edema/etiology , Breast Neoplasms/complications , COVID-19/complications , Encephalocele/etiology , Intracranial Hemorrhages/etiology , Stroke/etiology , Aged , Brain Edema/diagnostic imaging , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , COVID-19/diagnosis , Disease Progression , Encephalocele/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Intracranial Hemorrhages/diagnostic imaging , Risk Factors , Stroke/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic has recently brought to attention the myriad of neuro- logic sequelae associated with Coronavirus infection including the predilection for stroke, particularly in young patients. Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is a well-described clinical syndrome leading to vasoconstriction in the intracra- nial vessels, and has been associated with convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage and oc- casionally cervical artery dissection. It is usually reported in the context of a trigger such as medications, recreational drugs, or the postpartum state; however, it has not been described in COVID-19 infection. We report a case of both cervical vertebral ar- tery dissection as well as convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage due to RCVS, in a pa- tient with COVID-19 infection and no other triggers.