Fatal COVID‐19 infection in a patient with long‐chain 3‐hydroxyacyl‐CoA dehydrogenase deficiency: A case report

• Main Authors: Parith Wongkittichote, James R. Watson, Jennifer M. Leonard, Elizabeth R. Toolan, Patricia I. Dickson, Dorothy K. Grange
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020-11-01
• Series: JIMD Reports
• Subjects: cardiomyopathy; COVID‐19; fatty acid oxidation disorder; LCHAD; long‐chain 3‐hydroxyacyl‐CoA dehydrogenase deficiency
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/jmd2.12165

Abstract Long‐chain fatty‐acyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (LCHADD) is an inborn error of long chain fatty acid oxidation with various features including hypoketotic hypoglycemia, recurrent rhabdomyolysis, pigmentary retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmias. Various stresses trigger metabolic decompensation. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is a pandemic caused by the RNA virus SARS‐CoV‐2 with diverse presentations ranging from respiratory symptoms to myocarditis. We report a case of a patient with LCHADD who initially presented with typical metabolic decompensation symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and rhabdomyolysis in addition to mild cough, and was found to have COVID‐19. She developed acute respiratory failure and refractory hypotension from severe cardiomyopathy which progressed to multiple organ failure and death. Our case illustrates the need for close monitoring of cardiac function in patients with a long‐chain fatty acid oxidation disorder.