Opsoclonus-Myoclonus Syndrome, a Post-Infectious Neurologic Complication of COVID-19: Case Series and Review of Literature

Opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome is a heterogeneous constellation of symptoms ranging from full combination of these three neurological findings to varying degree of isolated individual sign. Since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), neurological symptoms, syndromes and complications associated with this multi-organ viral infection have been reported and the various aspects of neurological involvement are increasingly uncovered. As a neuro-inflammatory disorder in nature, one would expect to observe opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome after a prevalent viral infection in a pandemic scale, as it has been the case for many other neuro-inflammatory syndromes. We report seven cases of opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome presumably para-infectious in nature and discuss their phenomenology, their possible pathophysiological relationship to COVID-19 and diagnostic and treatment strategy in each case. Finally we review the relevant data in the literature regarding the opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome and possible similar cases associated with COVID-19 and its diagnostic importance for clinicians in various fields of medicine encountering COVID-19 patients and its complications.