Syncope and COVID-19: Case series and literature review

Abstract

COVID-19 infection can present with atypical symptoms such as syncope. We reported 2 patients who presented to our emergency department with syncope as a chief complaint. One patient did not have any other symptoms while the other patient developed severe pneumonia later during hospitalization. The cardiac workup including electrocardiogram, cardiac monitoring, and echocardiogram were unremarkable. Both patients were diagnosed with neurally mediated/reflex syncope secondary to COVID-19. No recurrence was reported during follow-up. We then performed a literature review and described previous cases focusing on clinical presentation and the likely mechanism of syncope.

Keywords

• covid-19
• neurally mediated
• pneumonia
• syncope