Guillain-Barré syndrome: rare extra-intestinal manifestation of hepatitis B

Abstract

Extrahepatic syndromes are uncommon manifestations of acute and chronic hepatitis B. The pathogenesis likely involves an aberrant immunologic response to extrahepatic viral proteins. Antiviral therapy reduces the availability of these viral protein antigens and thus halts immune activation. Approximately 1% of all cases of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy are associated with hepatitis B. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a remarkably clinically diverse disorder with distinctive variants characterised by an immune-mediated attack to components of the peripheral nervous system. In this report, we present a rare case of GBS with chronic hepatitis B that resolved with antiviral and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

Keywords: Extrahepatic syndrome; Guillain–Barré syndrome; Hepatitis B.