Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul:79:49-52.
doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2020.05.005. Epub 2020 May 11.

Seizures associated with coronavirus infections

Ali A Asadi-Pooya  1
Affiliations
Review

Seizures associated with coronavirus infections

Ali A Asadi-Pooya. Seizure. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Neurotropic and neuroinvasive capabilities of coronaviruses have been described in humans. Neurological problems found in patients with coronavirus infection include: febrile seizures, convulsions, loss of consciousness, encephalomyelitis, and encephalitis. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV2. In severe cases, patients may develop severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute cardiac injury. While seizures and status epilepticus have not been widely reported in the past five months since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, patients with COVID-19 may have hypoxia, multiorgan failure, and severe metabolic and electrolyte disarrangements; hence, it is plausible to expect clinical or subclinical acute symptomatic seizures to happen in these patients. One should be prepared to treat seizures appropriately, if they happen in a patient who is already in a critical medical condition and suffers from organ failure.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Epilepsy; Seizure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mechanisms of seizures in patients with COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rothan H.A., Byrareddy S.N. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. J Autoimmun. 2020;26(Febuary) doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2020.102433. [Epub ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bohmwald K., Gálvez N.M.S., Ríos M., Kalergis A.M. Neurologic alterations due to respiratory virus infections. Front Cell Neurosci. 2018;12:386. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hung Ec, Chim Ss, Chan Pk, Tong Yk, Ng Ek, Chiu Rw, et al. Detection of SARS coronavirus RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with severe acute respiratory syndrome. Clin Chem. 2003;49:2108–2109. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lau K.K., Yu WC Chu C.M., Lau S.T., Sheng B., Yuen K.Y. Possible central nervous system infection by SARS coronavirus. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10:342–344. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li Y., Li H., Fan R., Wen B., Zhang J., Cao X., et al. Coronavirus infections in the central nervous system and respiratory tract show distinct features in hospitalized children. Intervirology. 2016;59:163–169. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms