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Review
. 2023 Feb 14:11:1123348.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1123348. eCollection 2023.

Neurological consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the pediatric population

Manon Casabianca  1 , Caroline Caula  1 , Luigi Titomanlio  1   2   3 , Léa Lenglart  1
Affiliations
Review

Neurological consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the pediatric population

Manon Casabianca et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

COVID-19 in the pediatric population is mostly asymptomatic. However, 1 out of 5 children presents non-specific neurologic symptoms such as headache, weakness, or myalgia. Furthermore, rarer forms of neurological diseases are increasingly being described in association to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Encephalitis, stroke, cranial nerves impairment, Guillain-Barré syndrome or acute transverse myelitis have been reported and account for around 1% of pediatric COVID-19 cases. Some of these pathologies may occur during or after the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The pathophysiological mechanisms range from direct invasion of the central nervous system (CNS) by SARS-CoV-2 itself to postinfectious immune-mediated CNS inflammation. In most cases, patients presenting neurological pathologies related to SARS-CoV-2 infection are at greater risk of life-threatening complications and should be closely monitored. Further studies are needed to acknowledge the potential long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of the infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; anosmia; children; encephalitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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