An Arab man aged 43 years got diagnosed with coronavirus disease with symptoms. Immediately after recovery from COVID-19, the man experienced red-eye, back pain and a penile lesion. The man got a reactive arthritis diagnosis, considering he presented himself with conjunctivitis, balanitis, and arthritis.
He received NSAID treatment, a short systemic steroid course, steroid cream for the lesion, and antifungal cream. Soon, he reacted well to his treatment and came back to doing his normal activities in life.
Reactive Arthritis Following COVID-19
Coronavirus has contributed to a considerable burden on healthcare systems around the world. It has impacted the ways of life of people, who might take longer to recover. Coronavirus disease comes with several symptoms, including lower and upper respiratory symptoms, fever, malaise, and gastroenterological symptoms.
The usual immune reaction to COVID-19 can contribute to numerous complications, including even mortality. Some experimental and emerging treatment modalities have consequences with unidentified side effects. Moreover, COVID-19 has been associated with certain known syndromes, including one of the types of arthritis. Read on to know more about the man who developed this arthritis type after recovering from coronavirus disease.
What Complications Did The Person Have?
In 2021, the Arab person developed soreness in the throat some days after he talked to his father, with a coronavirus infection. There was a swab test that returned a COVID positive result. Then, the man started developing a fever of 103°F or above. Given that the man had a mild coronavirus disease case without any respiratory symptoms, he was told to be isolated and to seek supportive care. He started having myalgia, rhinorrhea, and a congested nose when at home.
He started consuming a gram of paracetamol daily, but his myalgia persisted. The man started to use 400 milligrams of ibuprofen twice per day when he began becoming bedbound and could not walk. He developed ageusia and anosmia four days after the arrival of symptoms. His symptoms and mobility improved after using ibuprofen for two days, but the ageusia and anosmia remained.
On the seventh day after the arrival of coronavirus disease symptoms, the man stopped every drug and kept doing fine. On the tenth day, there was another throat swap for the man, and he tested negative for coronavirus disease. On the fifteenth day, he started developing red-eye, which he began treating with eyedrops. On the sixteenth day, he started complaining of severe pain in his lower back as well as developed a penile lesion without pain alongside dysuria, which made him seek medical tips.
