Neurologic compromise in pediatric COVID-19 infection

Abstract

Coronavirus disease has extended its involvement beyond the respiratory system, with increasing reports of involving different systems, such as Nervous System. The neuroinvasive potential of this pathogen would be explained by its neurotropism given the presence of ACE2 receptors in the brain and spinal cord, in addition to the important systemic inflammatory involvement. The neurological involvement due to infection is divided between the central nervous system, highlighting non-specific and mild symptoms such as dizziness and headache, as well as severe symptoms with encephalitis and cerebrovascular pathology, and the peripheral nervous system, which mainly presents anosmia, ageusia, and myositis. Clinical symptomatology in pediatric patients seems to be less than in adults, but there is a growing report in the literature regarding these findings. Therefore, it is very important to have an adequate registry and anamnesis that allow early identification of neurological involvement.