Clinical Report

Acute cerebellar ataxia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in children: a case report

  • Yan ZHANG ,
  • Caihong WANG ,
  • Jinhui WANG ,
  • Hui YU ,
  • Caimei LIN
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  • 1. Department of Neurology, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University at Xiamen, Xiamen Children′s hospital, Xiamen 361006, Fujian, China
    2. Department of Infectious Diseases, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University at Xiamen, Xiamen Children′s hospital, Xiamen 361006, Fujian, China
    3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University at Xiamen, Xiamen Children′s hospital, Xiamen 361006, Fujian, China
    4. Department of Infectious Diseases, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children′s Medical Center, Shanghai 201102, China

Received date: 2023-03-28

  Online published: 2024-05-10

Abstract

To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of acute cerebellar ataxia in children associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The clinical features, neuroimages, therapy and prognosis of a girl with acute cerebellar ataxia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection who was hospitalized in Children′s Hospital of Fudan University at Xiamen were retrospectively analyzed and the related literature were summarized. The patient was a girl aged 4 years and 11 months. She was admitted due to cough for 2 weeks and fever for 3 days. On the 3rd day of admission, she was treated by intravenous human immunoglobulin injection with a total amount of 2g/kg (divided into 4 days) and with methylprednisolone 2mg/kg. After significant improvement, she was discharged from hospital with oral prednisone acetate at 1mg/kg/d. At 11 days of follow-up, the girl had returned to normal, and prednisone was stopped. Three articles and 3 children with acute cerebellar ataxia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported. The age of onset was 5 years old, 13 years old, and 15 years old, respectively. All 3 cases were males, and the onset was 1-2 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. All of them had ataxia gait. Two patients treated with intravenous methylprednisolone, and they were recovered to normal within 2 months. Acute cerebellar ataxia caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection usually appears 1 to 2 weeks after infection, and the clinical manifestations were ataxic gait, which was mostly caused by post-infection immune response, and the prognosis was good.

Cite this article

Yan ZHANG , Caihong WANG , Jinhui WANG , Hui YU , Caimei LIN . Acute cerebellar ataxia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in children: a case report[J]. Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 2024 , 42(5) : 456 -460 . DOI: 10.12372/jcp.2024.23e0227

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