Acute Pericarditis as the Primary Presentation of COVID-19 Infection followed by Guillain-Barre Syndrome in a Healthy Young Man: A Case Report

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic COVID-19 infection most often presents as acute respiratory distress syndrome. Acute pericarditis and Guillain-Barré syndrome are rare extrapulmonary manifestations of this infection. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27-year-old man presented with chest pain, with negative troponin and typical electrocardiographic findings, resulting in a diagnosis of acute pericarditis. He had no respiratory symptoms, nor the chest computerized tomography (CT) scan findings of COVID-19, and his Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was negative. One week later, he developed clinical symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome, along with respiratory manifestations of COVID-19. His repeat chest CT scan and PCR test confirmed COVID-19 infection. After 17 days of hospital stay, he improved clinically and was discharged. CONCLUSION: This is the first case of acute pericarditis as the primary presentation of COVID-19 in the absence of respiratory symptoms and a clear chest CT scan, followed by the development of Guillain-Barré syndrome and respiratory tract manifestations of COVID-19. Clinicians should be aware of the extrapulmonary presentation of COVID-19 infection.