Chronic subclinical spondylotic myelopathy exacerbated by COVID-19: a case report

Guadarrama-Ortiz, Parménides; Choreño-Parra, José Alberto; Javier Pacheco-Sánchez, Francisco; Ponce-Sánchez, Jesús Manuel; García-Quintero, Gabriela; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Patricia E.; Prieto-Rivera, Ángel Daniel

INTRODUCTION: Besides typical respiratory symptoms, the coronavirus disease 2019, also known as COVID-19, is characterized by a wide range of neurological symptoms that result from the injury of the brain and peripheral nerves. Only a few reports have described the involvement of the spinal cord among COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, little is known about the risk of individuals with chronic degenerative conditions of the spine for acute neurological complications of COVID-19. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we describe the case of a 73-year-old man with a subclinical cervical multifocal spondylotic myelopathy that manifested neurological symptoms of spinal cord injury some days after getting infected with SARS-CoV-2. The patient did not show any data associated with respiratory involvement and improved clinically after decompressive spinal surgery and administration of steroids. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of an acute exacerbation of a chronic degenerative condition of the spine caused by COVID-19.