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
. 2021 Apr 7;8(4):002418.
doi: 10.12890/2021_002418. eCollection 2021.

Unusual Presentation of COVID-19 Disease Leading to Respiratory Distress and Coma

Julie Paradis  1 , Hendrik Kevers  1 , Soufiane Chebli  1 , Serge Blum  2 , Pascal Reper  3   4
Affiliations

Unusual Presentation of COVID-19 Disease Leading to Respiratory Distress and Coma

Julie Paradis et al. Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. .

Abstract

Multiple neurological complications including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have been associated with COVID-19. We describe a case of GBS related to SARS-CoV-2 infection with an unusual presentation beginning with mobilization problems at home without previous classic respiratory or general manifestations. Asymptomatic infection with COVID-19 can lead to critical situations with respiratory insufficiency because of neurological complications such as GBS.

Learning points: Asymptomatic infection with COVID-19 can result in critical situations with respiratory insufficiency and need for mechanical ventilation because of neurological complications such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).All patients presenting with GBS should be tested for SARS-CoV-2.Neurological complications including neuromuscular impairment can be part of respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coma; Guillain-Barré syndrome; respiratory failure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interests: The Authors declare that there are no competing interests.

References

    1. Mao L, Jin H, Wang M, Hu Y, Chen S, He Q, et al. Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Neurol. 2020;77(6):683–690. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1127. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Toscano G, Palmerini F, Ravaglia S, Ruiz L, Invernizzi P, Cuzzoni MG, et al. Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(26):2574–2576. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2009191. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wijdicks EF, Klein CJ. Guillain-Barré syndrome. Mayo Clin Proc. 2017;92:467–479. - PubMed
    1. Hess DC, Eldahshan W, Rutkowski E. COVID-19-related stroke. Transl Stroke Res. 2020;11(3):322–325. doi: 10.1007/s12975-020-00818-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kim JE, Heo JH, Kim HO, Song SH, Park SS, Park TH, et al. Neurological complications during treatment of Middle East respiratory syndrome. J Clin Neurol. 2017;13:227–233. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources