Teenagers generally present mild to no symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In the present report, we present the case of a 14-year-old boy with Angelman syndrome (AS) who presented with severe COVID-19 symptoms. He spent 20 days in the ICU with elevated inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein and D-dimer) and increased peaks of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, which is uncommon for teenagers diagnosed with COVID-19. Although he showed physiological instability, he was able to produce neutralizing antibodies, suggesting a functional immune response. The literature concerning the immune response to infections in patients with AS is still poor, and to our knowledge, this was the first report of a patient with AS diagnosed with COVID-19. As such, the present study may alert other patients with AS or other rare diseases that they lack a competent immune response and could suffer severe consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Keywords: Angelman syndrome; COVID19; SARS-CoV-2; immune response; inflammation; intensive care unit; neutralizing antibodies.
Copyright © 2021 Lopes, Celestino, Barros, Fevereiro, Gejer, Oliveira, Brasil, Bossolan, Pinto, Santos, Divan, Alves, Oliveira, Machado, Thomazelli, Hiyane, Brelaz-Abreu, Bragança-Jardim, Heinen, Barrientos, Mau, Camara, Bueno and Amano.