A case of mild encephalitis associated with COVID‐19

Abstract

Abstract We report a case of mild encephalitis/encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS) in a 31‐year‐old man. He had been diagnosed with mild COVID‐19 3 days earlier and presented to the emergency department with altered mental status. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a high‐intensity area confined to the splenium of the corpus callosum on diffusion‐weighted imaging, which is consistent with MERS. MERS is characterized by a reversible change in the splenium of the corpus callosum. MERS secondary to COVID‐19 has been reported recently. It is important to consider MERS in COVID‐19 patients with impaired consciousness.

Keywords

• COVID‐19
• cytotoxic lesions of the corpus callosum
• mild encephalitis with a reversible splenial lesion
• SARS‐Cov‐2