COVID-19 Worsens Chronic Lumbosacral Radicular Pain—Case Series Report

Abstract

The knowledge of the COVID-19 symptomatology has increased since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The symptoms of nervous system involvement have been observed across the spectrum of COVID-19 severity. Reports describing difficulties of nerve roots are rare; the affection of brain and spinal cord by SARS-CoV-2 is of leading interest. Our aim therefore is to describe the radicular pain deterioration in the group of nine chronic lumbosacral radicular syndrome sufferers in acute COVID-19. The intensity of radicular pain was evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The VAS score in acute infection increased from 5.6 ± 1.1 to 8.0 ± 1.3 (Cohen’s d = 1.99) over the course of COVID-19, indicating dramatic aggravation of pain intensity. However, the VAS score decreased spontaneously to pre-infection levels after 4 weeks of COVID-19 recovery (5.8 ± 1.1). The acute SARS-CoV-2 infection worsened the pre-existing neural root irritation symptomatology, which may be ascribed to SARS-CoV-2 radiculitis of neural roots already compressed by the previous disc herniation. These findings based on clinical observations indicate that the neurotropism of novel coronavirus infection can play an important role in the neural root irritation symptomatology deterioration in patients with chronic pre-existing lumbosacral radicular syndrome.