Late-Term Complications of COVID-19: Retropharyngeal Infection and Myocarditis in a 26-Year-Old Patient
  • Mohammad Yousef
    McLaren Health Care Corporation, Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA
  • Basel Abdelazeem
    McLaren Health Care Corporation, Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA
  • Atefeh Kalantary
    McLaren Health Care Corporation, Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA
  • Rebecca Pratiti

Keywords

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, deep neck space infection, retropharyngeal abscess, viral myocarditis

Abstract

Deep neck space infection and viral myocarditis related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have both been described in the medical literature. However, there are only three reported cases of retropharyngeal infection as a presenting pathology in the setting of COVID-19.

A 26-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with fever and neck swelling and pain 1 month after COVID-19 infection. A computed tomography scan of the neck demonstrated tonsillitis with retropharyngeal infection. She was also found to have heart failure with an ejection fraction (EF) of <20% due to acute myocarditis. Her infection resolved and the EF improved to 40% prior to discharge.

Our case is the first to describe retropharyngeal infection as a late complication in an adult with a history of COVID-19 several weeks previously. It also presented a clinical challenge in terms of tailoring goal-directed medical therapy to manage severe left ventricular dysfunction caused by myocarditis.

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    Published: 2021-10-26
    Issue: 2021: Vol 8 No 10 (view)

    How to cite:
    1.
    Mohammad Yousef, Abdelazeem B, Kalantary A, Pratiti R. Late-Term Complications of COVID-19: Retropharyngeal Infection and Myocarditis in a 26-Year-Old Patient. EJCRIM 2021;8 doi:10.12890/2021_002759.