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Review
. 2021 Feb;27(1):26-34.
doi: 10.1007/s13365-020-00941-1. Epub 2021 Jan 25.

Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, a post-infectious neurologic complication of COVID-19: case series and review of literature

Maziar Emamikhah  1 , Mansoureh Babadi  2 , Mehrnoush Mehrabani  3 , Mehdi Jalili  2 , Maryam Pouranian  4 , Peyman Daraie  5 , Fahimeh Mohaghegh  1 , Sharmin Aghavali  1 , Maryam Zaribafian  6 , Mohammad Rohani  7   8
Affiliations
Review

Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, a post-infectious neurologic complication of COVID-19: case series and review of literature

Maziar Emamikhah et al. J Neurovirol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome is a heterogeneous constellation of symptoms ranging from full combination of these three neurological findings to varying degrees of isolated individual sign. Since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), neurological symptoms, syndromes, and complications associated with this multi-organ viral infection have been reported and the various aspects of neurological involvement are increasingly uncovered. As a neuro-inflammatory disorder, one would expect to observe opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome after a prevalent viral infection in a pandemic scale, as it has been the case for many other neuro-inflammatory syndromes. We report seven cases of opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome presumably parainfectious in nature and discuss their phenomenology, their possible pathophysiological relationship to COVID-19, and diagnostic and treatment strategy in each case. Finally, we review the relevant data in the literature regarding the opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome and possible similar cases associated with COVID-19 and its diagnostic importance for clinicians in various fields of medicine encountering COVID-19 patients and its complications.

Keywords: COVID-19; Myoclonus; Opsoclonus; Parainfectious; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Chest computed tomography (CT) scan of case 1 shows few peripheral patchy ground-glass opacities in both lungs
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chest CT scan of case 2 shows patchy peripheral ground glass opacities and consolidations in both lungs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Chest CT scan of case 3 shows patchy peripheral ground glass opacities and consolidations in both lungs typical for COVID-19 involvements
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Chest CT scan of case 5 shows patchy peripheral opacities (circles) in both lungs more severe in right lung in favor of COVID-19 diagnosis
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Chest CT scan of case 6 shows patchy peripheral opacities in both lungs in favor of COVID-19 diagnosis
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Chest CT scan of case 7 shows patchy predominantly peripheral ground glass opacities and consolidations in both lungs supporting the COVID-19 diagnosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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