Speakers - NWC 2023

Abstract

We report about a 50-year-old previously healthy and very sportive patient who suffered a SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the mid of February 2022 with mild symptoms. About six weeks after the infection, he had problems walking. There was a loss of strength to lift up his legs. For this reason, the family doctor sent him for an MRI. The MRI showed a prolapse of the discus at the segment L5/S1 and no myelopathy. The patient consulted the Provincial Hospital, where he was admitted as an inpatient. During the next two weeks, no one found a real reason for the weakness of the patient's legs. After three weeks more, the patient felt worse. Another MRI was performed without any difference from the one before. Empiric therapy with immunoglobulins and corticosteroids was started without any effect. At the end of May, the patient was transferred to the University Hospital Graz, Department of Neurology, with the diagnosis: of Paraplegia Th7 with vegetative disorders. At the Department of Neurology, the therapy with immunoglobulins was started again over a period of 5 days. The next MRI performed on the 3^rd of June showed long-distance myelopathy from C2 to Th12 concerning the spinal cord's sides and dorsal strands. The cerebrospinal fluid analysis and antibodies in the blood showed no pathologic findings. According to the Department of Neurology, the etiology of this long-distance myelopathy is still unclear, and there is a high probability of a post-Covid association. On the 21^st of August, the patient started rehabilitation at the AUVA Rehabilitation Clinic Tobelbad. On the 10^th of October, the patient said, for the first time, that he could move his toes a little bit and he is feeling pressure in his bladder and rectum. If he develops more functions, we will follow up.