A Case of 45-Year Man Who Succumbed to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

We present a case of a 45-year male with history of fever and cough, followed by shortness of breath, lethargy and confusion at home. He was a known hypertensive, smoker and naswaar addict. He had history of contact with a friend who had recently returned from China, and used to work there as a physician. On presentation, he was hypoxic with bilateral coarse crepitations; and chest radiograph showed left middle zone consolidation. Considering the current pandemic, provisional diagnosis of meningoencephilits, with bilateral pneumonia owing to COVID-19, was made. Throat swab was sent for COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR). He was managed in intensive care unit (ICU) with broad-spectrum antibiotics, hydroxychloroquine alongwith anticoagulants; but he remained hypoxic with rapidly worsening clinical course, requiring mechanical ventilation; and ultimately succumbed to the disease. Report of COVID-19 PCR came positive after 24 hours. Key words: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Meningoencephalitis, Pneumonia.