Appearance and rupture of a dissection aneurysm of the basilar trunk in a SARS- CoV-2 patient

Abstract

The article describes a clinical case of a dissection aneurysm of the basilar artery in a SARS-COV-2 patient. The patient was treated in the hospital for infectious diseases due to bilateral poly-segmental pneumonia complicating a COVID-19 infection. A focal neurological deficit suddenly appeared and rapidly progressed, including paresis of the abducens nerve, bulbar disorders, and a right-sided hemiparesis. During the course of treatment, the patient underwent CT and CT angiography of the cerebral arteries several times. During the first examination, no pathology of the cerebral vessels was discovered. During the examination 10 days later, a fusiform aneurysm of the basilar artery trunk with a daughter sac was detected. Its rupture led to massive subarachnoid hemorrhage and an unfavorable outcome. The occurrence of primary symptoms in this patient could be due to a violation of the blood flow in the short branches of the basilar trunk in the area of the dissection.