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Abstract
A 19-year-old man was admitted with a 2-week history of continuous cough along with a day history of acute onset unsteadiness and hiccups. Given the current pandemic, he was initially suspected to have COVID-19, however he tested negative on two occasions. Subsequent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)confirmed a small left acute and subacute lateral medullary infarction with chest X-ray suggesting aspiration pneumonia with right lower lobe collapse. This is a distinctive case of posterior circulation stroke presenting with a new continuous cough in this era of COVID-19 pandemic. We anticipate based on MRI findings that his persistent cough was likely due to silent aspiration from dysphagia because of the subacute medullary infarction. It is therefore imperative that healthcare workers evaluate people who present with new continuous cough thoroughly to exclude any other sinister pathology. We should also be familiar with the possible presentations of posterior circulation stroke in this pandemic era.
- stroke
- infectious diseases
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Footnotes
Contributors MW: managed the patient, conceived the idea of the case report, was involved in planning, literature search and referencing for the case report, took consent from the patient, wrote the initial draft of the case report, revised the case report and approved the final draft of the case report. PB: managed the patient, conceived the idea of the case report, was involved in planning of the case report, wrote the initial draft of case report, revised the case report and approved the final draft of the case report and is the guarantor. SD: managed the patient, was involved in planning the case report, did literature search, revised and critically analysed the initial draft and approved the final draft of the case report.
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.