High-dose intravenous immunoglobulins as a therapeutic option in critical illness polyneuropathy accompanying SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case-based review of the literature (Review)

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader High-dose intravenous immunoglobulins as a therapeutic option in critical illness polyneuropathy accompanying SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case-based review of the literature (Review) Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1182. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10616. Epub 2021 Aug 16. ABSTRACT The still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the medical community to a number of major challenges. A significant number of patients require admission to intensive care unit (ICU) services due to severe respiratory, thrombotic and septic complications and require long-term hospitalization. Neuromuscular weakness is a common complication in critically ill patients who are treated in ICUs and are mechanically ventilated. This complication is frequently caused by critical illness myopathy (CIM) or critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) and leads to difficulty in weaning from the ventilator. It is thought to represent an important neurologic manifestation of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). COVID-19 infection is known to trigger strong immune dysregulation, with an intense cytokine storm, as a result, the frequency of CIP is expe cted to be higher in this setting. The mainstay in the diagnosis of this entity beside the high level of clinical awareness is the electrophysiological examination that provides evidence of axonal motor and sensory polyneuropathy. The present article presents the case of a 54-year-old woman with severe COVID 19 infection who developed neuromuscular weakness, which turned out to be secondary to CIP and was treated successfully with a high dose of human intravenous immunoglobulins. Related to this case, we reviewed the relevant literature data regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology and clinical features of this important complication and discussed also the treatment options and prognosis. PMID:34475972 | PMC:PMC8406741 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10616 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.