Basal ganglia infarction and COVID-19 infection in an elderly patient: A case report

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly worldwide since the first cases were observed in Wuhan, China. Patients with COVID-19 develop multiple neurological symptoms, including headache, disturbed consciousness, and paresthesia, in addition to systemic and respiratory symptoms. CASE PRESENTATION: We presented a 57-year-old woman admitted to the emergency department – in December 2020 – with complaints of slurred speech, confusion, and left upper limb weakness after one week of positive nasopharyngeal swab sample SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSIONS: While the patient had previous comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes, she had no prior history of ischemic stroke or thrombosis, so we conclude that unilateral acute basal ganglia infarction may be a unique neurological manifestation after COVID-19 infection in an elderly patient with previous comorbidities.