Acute onset neuropsychiatric conditions in children and adolescents following SARS-CoV-2 infection: a case series

SUMMARY

“Acute onset neuropsychiatric conditions in children and adolescents following SARS-CoV-2 infection: a case series” describes eight children and adolescents who developed sudden, severe neuropsychiatric symptoms—including obsessive-compulsive behaviors, tics, psychosis, and emotional dysregulation—following SARS-CoV-2 infection. While neurological complications of COVID-19 are well recognized in adults, this study highlights how similar post-infectious neuroinflammatory responses can manifest in pediatric patients, sometimes meeting diagnostic criteria for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).

Many of the children in this case series had no significant prior psychiatric history, and their symptoms often appeared abruptly within weeks of infection. Standard psychiatric medications alone were frequently insufficient, but patients showed meaningful improvement when treated with immunomodulatory therapies like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), antibiotics, steroids, or intravenous immunoglobulin alongside psychiatric and behavioral interventions.

These cases emphasize the potential for SARS-CoV-2 to be among the infections known to trigger an autoimmune or inflammatory response targeting the brain resulting in PANS. The findings underscore the need for clinicians to consider post-infectious autoimmune contributions when encountering sudden-onset psychiatric symptoms.

LINK TO PAPER: https://doi.org/10.1159/000545349