• Alexander Grieb, Tamara Seitz, Reinhard Kitzberger, Manfred Schmidbauer, Wolfgang Hoepler, Sebastian Baumgartner, Marianna T Traugott, Erich Pawelka, Mario Karolyi, Georg Strasser, Karolina Knibbe, Hermann Laferl, Alexander Zoufaly, Christoph Wenisch, and Stephanie Neuhold.
• 4th Medical Division for Infectious Disease Medicine and Tropical Medicine, Klinik Favoriten, Pav. C, Kundtratstr. 3, 1100, Vienna, Austria. alexander.grieb@gmx.at.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2021 Sep 1; 133 (17-18): 902-908.

BackgroundIn addition to respiratory symptoms, many patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present with neurological complications. Several case reports and small case series described myoclonus in five patients suffering from the disease. The purpose of this article is to report on five critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated myoclonus.Material And MethodsThe clinical courses and test results of patients treated in the study center ICU and those of partner hospitals are described. Imaging, laboratory tests and electrophysiological test results are reviewed and discussed.ResultsIn severe cases of COVID-19 myoclonus can manifest about 3 weeks after initial onset of symptoms. Sedation is sometimes effective for symptom control but impedes respiratory weaning. No viral particles or structural lesions explaining this phenomenon were found in this cohort.ConclusionMyoclonus in patients with severe COVID-19 may be due to an inflammatory process, hypoxia or GABAergic impairment. Most patients received treatment with antiepileptic or anti-inflammatory agents and improved clinically.© 2021. Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.

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