Abstract
We present a case report of a 58-year old man who came to our Department of Neurology for a consultation 2 months after being diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. The patient had been febrile for a week and had had 2 generalized onset seizures with clonic jerks of the upper extremities in 2 consecutive days. Then he had been admitted at a department of infection diseases. COVID-19 PCR had been positive. EEG and CT scan of the brain had been absolutely normal. The patient had been treated with azithromycin for the COVID-19 infection and following a negative PCR test, he had gone home. During the hospital stay the patient had been diagnosed with Epilepsy and valproate treatment had been started. The patient did not accept the diagnosis and did not take the anticonvulsant regularly, moreover he was a truck driver and wanted to go back to work shortly. The control EEG showed no abnormalities and he had no more seizures. Therefore we did not accept the diagnosis Epilepsy and did not recommend a regular intake of antiepileptic medications. In conclusion we would like to emphasize on the need of an individual approach to every patient. Provoked seizures which are symptoms of an infection do not necessarily mean a diagnosis Epilepsy and do not require chronic treatment, especially when they are not present after the acute stage and EEG is normal.
Highlights
The rapid global spreading of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with the documentation of a variety of neurological symptoms
The usual seizure types are motor with or without loss of consciousness [4-6]. These clinical presentations set the question whether it is correct to diagnose the patients with epilepsy and start regular antiseizure therapy
Following a negative PCR test in 10 days, the patient had gone home. He had been recommended to take valproate regularly, but the patient did not accept the diagnosis and did not take the anticonvulsant regularly. As he wanted to go back to work shortly, he came to consult about the diagnosis Epilepsy and the need for anticonvulsant treatment
Summary
The rapid global spreading of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with the documentation of a variety of neurological symptoms. An increasing number of patients with seizures at the onset or in the course of the COVID-19 infection have been described recently. They may be a consequence of fever, hypoxia, metabolic derangements, organ failure or even cerebral damage such as encephalitis or encephalopathy [1,2,3]. The usual seizure types are motor (tonic, clonic or tonic-clonic) with or without loss of consciousness [4-6]. These clinical presentations set the question whether it is correct to diagnose the patients with epilepsy and start regular antiseizure therapy
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
