Massive Ischemic Strokes in a Young Patient With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia

Abstract

Stroke is an identified sequela of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. While the pathophysiology remains poorly understood, endothelial dysfunction and intravascular thrombosis secondary to sepsis-induced hypercoagulability likely increase the risk of stroke. This report describes the rare case of an otherwise healthy 42-year-old male who developed large bilateral ischemic infarcts during admission for severe hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to COVID pneumonia. This report adds to scarce literature describing massive cerebrovascular injury in COVID patients and emphasizes the importance of increased clinical suspicion for stroke in patients who exhibit acute change in mental status or motor function, as well as rapid clinical deterioration.