Reactive systemic vasculitis in the course of a coronavirus OC43 infection: a case report


Submitted: 6 March 2023
Accepted: 6 April 2023
Published: 8 May 2023
Abstract Views: 729
PDF: 108
HTML: 25
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

This case report details a severe systemic failure following a coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) infection. A 78-year-old man, who had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, was hospitalized for a flu-like infection and abdominal pain, revealing bilateral hemorrhagic adrenal infarctions with secondary adrenal failure. Imagery examinations showed adrenal necrosis and multiple ischemic cerebral strokes. A multiplex retro-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) became positive for HCoV-OC43. Cardio-vascular, infectious, and auto-immune exams were negative. A steroid medication finally allowed clinical improvement, and the diagnosis of reactional vasculitis was retained. An unknown pathogenicity of HCoV-OC43 is possible, considering that RT-PCR research is rarely made. The hypothesis of cross-reactions with SARS-CoV-2 antivaccine antibodies is also feasible. At last, the possible former virulence of HCoV-OC43 is being researched, in the event that this virus is connected to the 1889 Russian influenza pandemic. The development of multiplex RT-PCR would enable the study of other HCV-OC43 infections.


Cui J, Li F, Shi ZL. Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses. Nat Rev Microbiol 2019;17:181-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9

Walsh EE, Shin JH, Falsey AR. Clinical impact of human coronaviruses 229E and OC43 infection in diverse adult populations. J Infect Dis 2013;208:1634-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jit393

Patrick DM, Petric M, Skowronski DM, et al. An outbreak of human coronavirus OC43 infection and serological crossreactivity with SARS coronavirus. Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol 2006;17:330-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2006/152612

Morfopoulou S, Brown JR, Graham Davies E, et al. Human coronavirus OC43 associated with fatal encephalitis. N Engl J Med 2016;375:497-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1509458

Wu Y, Xu X, Chen Z, et al. Nervous system involvement after infection with COVID-19 and other coronaviruses. Brain Behav Immun 2020;87:18-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.03.031

Lamprosa A, Caumes E, Psimaras D, et al. Infection associated cerebral vasculitis [Article in French]. Rev Med Interne 2021;42:258-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmed.2020.05.027

Shrock E, Fujimura E, Kula T, et al. Viral epitope profiling of COVID-19 patients reveals cross-reactivity and correlates of severity. Science 2020;370:eabd4250.

Dugas M, Grote-Westrick T, Merle U, et al. Lack of antibodies against seasonal coronavirus OC43 nucleocapsid protein identifies patients at risk of critical COVID-19. J Clin Virol 2021;139:104847. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2021.104847

Dugas M, Schrempf IM, Ochs K, et al. Association of contact to small children with a mild course of COVID-19. J Infect Dis 2020;100:314-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.09.003

Tamminen K, Salminen M, Blazevic V. Seroprevalence and SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactivity of endemic coronavirus OC43 and 229E in Finnish children and adults. Clin Immunol 2021;229:108782. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clim.2021.108782

Vijgen L, Keyaerts E, Moës E, et al. Complete genomic sequence of human coronavirus OC43: molecular clock analysis suggests a relatively recent zoonotic coronavirus transmission. J Virol 2005;79:1595-604. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.79.3.1595-1604.2005

Korsia-Meffre S. Pandémie de grippe russe : une COVID du XIXe siècle ?. Available from: https://www.vidal.fr/actualites/26269-pandemie-de-grippe-russe-une-covid-du-xixe-siecle.html. Accessed on: 16 august 2021.

Jacquet, B., Curiale, V., Mangeard, H., Ferrer, Émilie, & Chaillou, S. (2023). Reactive systemic vasculitis in the course of a coronavirus OC43 infection: a case report. Geriatric Care, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/gc.2023.11295

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations