A Case Report of Pediatric Germinoma With SARS-CoV-2: Lessons Learned From an Academic Tertiary Referral Hospital in Asian COVID Epicentrum

Abstract

Background Patients often present with one or more pre-existing underlying chronic diseases that will affect their prognoses and mortality. A study revealed that the majority of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection presented with either no or a single symptom. Meanwhile, multiple other studies reported of more severe disease in SARS-CoV-2 infected children with brain tumor and/or cancer as a whole. Case report The patient was a 15-year-old male who was referred to our hospital with complaints of vomiting, headache, and signs of worsening right hemiparesis. Initial MRI suggested of a high-grade astrocytoma and hydrocephalus, but a subtotal tumor resection and external ventricular drainage gave light to a histopathological examination conclusive of germinoma. After adhering to radiotherapy and recovering well, the patient fell into unconsciousness 9 months later and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The patient deteriorated on the third day of admission with respiratory failure, shock, arrythmias, fever, and increased d-dimer. After multiple attempts stabilization with ventilatory, defibrillator, and medical support, the patient deceased at the 6th day of admission. Discussion Cancer patients with COVID-19 have been reported to have relatively higher mortality rate when compared to the non-infected patients. Moreover, malignancies were also reported to increase the risk of developing more severe disease in children. Although rare, patients may develop a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which is a state of hyperinflammatory and severe illness temporally associated with COVID-19 infection. No observations have been evident in indicating the influence of COVID-19 on the neurological state of the patient, but we believe that it may be reasonable to not yet exclude the possibility of it of exacerbating the CNS malignancy our patient suffered from. Conclusion Children with intracranial brain tumor infected by SARS-CoV-2 may fall into a worse condition with poor prognosis, exacerbated by severe acute respiratory distress and the need for breathing support in intensive care unit. Multidisciplinary tumor boards have to convene regularly, including through call-conferences and telemedicine platforms.