Article Text
Abstract
A 33-year-old man with paranoid schizophrenia and a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt was sent to our institution from an inpatient psychiatric facility due to concerns for the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Per the facility, the patient had a fever and non-productive cough. On admission, the patient was afebrile and lacked subjective symptoms. A RNA reverse transcriptase PCR (RNA RT-PCR) test for COVID-19 was positive. A chest X-ray contained a small patchy opacity in the right middle lobe and another in the retrocardiac region concerning for pneumonia. Inflammatory markers were mildly elevated. He remained COVID-19 positive and asymptomatic for 36 days. This case details one asymptomatic carrier’s course with persistently positive COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swabs. It demonstrates that a VP shunt could be a possible predisposition for prolonged viral shedding.
- infectious diseases
- respiratory medicine
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Footnotes
Contributors FE-B, DG and AF were all involved in this project. All provided substantial contributions to the conception of case report, drafted the original work and revised the copy, all approved the final project and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.