Keywords
Corona Virus
Hiccups
Persistent Hiccups
How to Cite
Abstract
Hiccups are a ventilatory mechanism involuntarily involving the inspiratory muscles and the glottis, Its physiological interest has not been demonstrated until today. Acute or chronic hiccups have a wide variety of etiologies. We report the case of a 50-year-old patient with a history of iterative sinusitis, who consulted a gastroenterologist for persistent hiccups. The patient's clinical examination was normal. Chest x-ray showing an abnormal mediastinal image leads to a chest CT scan showing a typical picture of COVID-19 virus infection: bilateral and peripheral frosted glass opacities. A nasal swab RT-PCR test confirmed the diagnosis. Admitted to an isolation unit, the patient received treatment with clinical and biological monitoring. The hiccups disappeared around the 3rd day of hospitalization, the negotiation of the RT-PCR occurred after 14 days with a favorable evolution of the symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the 2nd global case of persistent hiccups that have revealed infection with the COVID-19 virus.
References
Woelk CJ. Prise en charge du hoquet. Can Fam Physician. 2011;57(6):e198-e201. [Accessed 2022 Mar 28]. Available from: https://www.cfp.ca/content/cfp/57/6/e198.full.pdf
Pascarella G, Strumia A, Piliego C, Bruno F, Del Buono R, Costa F, et al. COVID-19 diagnosis and management: a comprehensive review. J Intern Med. 2020 Aug;288(2):192-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13091
Chang FY, Lu CL. Hiccup: mystery, nature and treatment. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2012;18(2):123-130. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm.2012.18.2.123
Harapan H, Itoh N, Yufika A, Winardi W, Keam S, Te H, et al. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A literature review. J Infect Public Health. 2020 May;13(5):667-673.
Esakandari H, Nabi-Afjadi M, Fakkari-Afjadi J, Farahmandian N, Miresmaeili SM, Bahreini E. A comprehensive review of COVID-19 characteristics. Biol Proced Online. 2020 Aug 4;22:19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12575-020-00128-2
Steger M, Schneemann M, Fox M. Systemic review: the pathogenesis and pharmacological treatment of hiccups. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2015 Nov;42(9):1037-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.13374
Prince G, Sergel M. Persistent hiccups as an atypical presenting complaint of COVID-19. Am J Emerg Med. 2020 Jul;38(7):1546.e5-1546.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.045
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2020 Tebay A et al.
