The youngest infant with COVID-19-associated necrotizing encephalitis in Asia: A case report

Abstract

Acute necrotic encephalopathy in children is a very rare complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and has rarely been reported worldwide. A 45-day-old girl was admitted to our hospital with fever and listlessness. A nose swab tested positive for the novel coronavirus nucleic acid, and her cerebrospinal fluid was positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. An early head magnetic resonance imaging scan indicated multiple abnormal signals in her bilateral cerebral hemispheres, and encephalitis was diagnosed. Twenty-three days after hospitalization, bilateral cerebral atrophy-like changes were observed on magnetic resonance imaging, with multiple softening lesions in the bilateral cerebral hemispheres, accompanied by convulsions. She was admitted to the hospital for mechanically assisted ventilation, and her condition improved after treatment of her symptoms with antiepileptic medication, anti-infection drugs, glucocorticoids, and immunoglobulins. Acute necrotic encephalopathy associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children should be detected and treated as early as possible. Satisfactory short-term efficacy can be obtained, but long-term neurological sequelae often linger.