Doctors at Kauvery Hospital have treated three patients who developed neurological complications after contracting COVID-19.
A release by the hospital said the first case involved an 18-year-old, whose family members tested positive, but she remained asymptomatic. Many weeks later, she developed difficulty in walking, giddiness and sensory changes on the left side of her body.
While her symptoms were similar to multiple sclerosis, she was subsequently diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, which refers to inflammation in the brain or spine. A test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies came out positive as well, the release said.
Sivarajan Thandeswaran, senior consultant, stroke and neurovascular medicine, at the hospital, said the girl’s condition improved considerably within a week of her admission.
Another case was that of a 69-year-old man who had symptoms similar to dementia along with cold and fever. While the diagnosis for dementia returned negative, he tested positive for COVID-19. He was affected by COVID-19 encephalopathy and recovered after five days, Dr. Thandeswaran said.
The third case involved a 68-year-old woman, who already had numbness on her feet due to diabetic neuropathy. She had sudden loss of control over the movement of hands and feet. The antibody test for COVID-19 came positive and it was found that the patient had symptoms similar to COVID-19 a few weeks ago.
Her neurological condition was diagnosed as Guillian Barre Syndrome and was treated successfully with the initiation of intravenous immunoglobulin, the release said.
With more cases of post COVID-19 illnesses getting reported, Aravindan Selvaraj, co-founder and executive director, said the hospital introduced wellness centres early on and was thus able to provide healthcare support for a variety of conditions.
