Central Apnea in Patients with COVID-19 Infection

Vikram Venkata Puram (), Anish Sethi, Olga Epstein, Malik Ghannam, Kevin Brown, James Ashe and Brent Berry
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Vikram Venkata Puram: Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Anish Sethi: School of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Olga Epstein: Department of Internal Medicine, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA
Malik Ghannam: Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Kevin Brown: Department of Neurology, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA
James Ashe: Department of Neurology, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA
Brent Berry: Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

J, 2023, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that has killed over 1.5 million people worldwide. A constellation of multisystem involvement with SARS-CoV-2 has been reported. COVID-19 has been shown to affect the human nervous system, however, both the extent and severity of involvement have yet to be fully elucidated. In this manuscript, we aimed to better understand the effect of COVID-19 on neuro-respiratory status by studying COVID-19 patients who presented with central apnea. Methodology: We analyzed patient characteristics, clinical outcomes, laboratory results, and imaging results of three patients with symptomatic, PCR-proven COVID-19 and episodes of central apnea. Results: Of the three patients included in this study, two patients developed new central apnea, and one patient developed an exacerbation of underlying central apnea despite COVID-19 treatments with systemic steroids and remdesivir. All occurred, on average, 15 days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. At 1-year follow-up, all patients experienced complete resolution of apneic breathing. Conclusions: Physicians should be vigilant for the presentation of COVID-19 with central apnea. Central apnea may be a complication in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. More research is warranted to further understand this association.

Keywords: COVID-19; central apnea; neuro-respiratory; case series (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 I12 I13 I14 I18 I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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