Background
Pain has been frequently described as a clinical feature of COVID‐19, and the main pain syndromes that have been associated with the acute phase of this disease so far are headache, myalgia, arthralgia, and neuropathic pain. Understanding the characteristics of pain symptoms is crucial for a better clinical approach.
Methods
Patients who were diagnosed as having COVID‐19 using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction were included in the study. Patients were asked to complete a 51‐item questionnaire via a phone interview, which included questions on demographics, acute COVID‐19 symptoms, the presence of pain symptoms, and their characteristics in the acute phase of COVID‐19.
Results
A total of 222 out of 266 patients with COVID‐19 participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 83.5%. A total of 159 patients reported at least one kind of pain syndrome with a prevalence of 71.6%. Myalgia was reported in 110 (49.6%) patients, headache in 109 (49.1%), neuropathic pain symptoms in 55 (24.8%), and polyarthralgia in 30 (13.5%) patients. A total of 66 patients reported only one type of pain, 46 reported two types, 42 reported three types, and five patients reported all four types of pain. Logistic regression analysis showed that there were significant associations between these pain syndromes and a strong association was found between neuropathic pain and headache.
Conclusion
Pain is a frequently observed symptom of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19. There are significant relationships between pain syndromes in COVID‐19, which may be due to a sequence of common etiologic factors.
Significance
This study described the main pain syndromes associated acute phase of mild‐to‐moderate COVID‐19 and its associated features. Headaches and pain of neuropathic characteristics were prevalent in this sample.
Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a disease characterized by rigidity in the extremities, axial muscles, and abdominal muscles, severe and painful spasms, and accompanying gait disturbances. Stiff person syndrome is most common in adults between the ages of 20 to 50 and in female sex. The most frequently reported antibody in patients with SPS is antibodies developed against glutamic acid decarboxylase enzyme. In this article, two SPS cases from different age groups who presented with gait disturbance and painful spasms and were found to have glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody positivity were reported with clinical and electrophysiological findings in the light of the literature. As in our cases, SPS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients of all age presenting with muscle stiffness and spasms, specifically those that increase with stimulus.
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