OREANDA-NEWS. British doctors have described the first clinical case of persistent cortical blindness as a complication of COVID-19. Nothing like this has ever been observed before. The article is published in the journal «Cureus».

During the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors have identified many neurological complications of this disease, including headache, dizziness, encephalopathy, delirium, meningitis, encephalitis, acute transverse myelitis, as well as violations of the sense of smell and taste. According to scientists, all these phenomenons are caused by the direct penetration of the coronavirus into the brain and inflammation in neural networks.

Researchers from the UK, led by Mohamed Elhassan from the Royal Hospital in Derby, described a unique case of a 54-year-old patient with COVID-19. He was admitted to the hospital with severe pneumonia and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Doctors discovered, that he had persistent cortical blindness too – a complete lack of vision, caused by damage to the occipital lobes of the brain. At the same time, the pupils usually continue to respond to light. It is classified as a visual impairment of a neurological nature.

The 54-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital with a high fever, significant shortness of breath, an increased heart rate and an oxygen saturation level of 82%. Prior to that, he had fever, muscle aches, and a dry cough for ten days. According to clinical examinations, doctors found a low level of lymphocytes in the patient's blood, but no violations of kidney function, electrolyte balance or blood clotting profile were detected. As the patient gradually recovered physically and neurologically, he began to recognize shapes and colors, but his vision never fully recovered.