Coexistence of Pancytopenia and Myositis After Developing COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 causes not only acute but also subacute medical conditions during the clinical course. COVID-19 causes severe inflammatory conditions; therefore, patients may develop long-term complications. Among patients with acute COVID-19, some patients can experience persistent symptoms, such as fatigue, joint pain, and smell and taste abnormalities, known as the long COVID-19 syndrome. The symptoms can be severe and require continuous medical care. Patients with severe clinical courses of COVID-19 may have critical symptoms again after the cure of the acute infections, especially among older patients. We encountered a case of neutropenia and myositis one month after contracting COVID-19. An 89-year-old man presented to our hospital with acute-onset systemic muscle pain and difficulty in movement and speaking. The patient had neutropenia and myositis with an extremely high level of immunoglobulin G caused by COVID-19. A granulocyte colony-stimulating factor could be effective for treating neutropenia. Besides, prednisolone was effective for treating myositis. In community hospitals, after developing COVID-19, appropriate history taking and physical examination should be performed in older patients with ambiguous symptoms, as they might have critical medical conditions such as neutropenia and myositis. The appropriate diagnosis and treatments of older patients with the complications of COVID-19 should be performed.