Guillain-Barré syndrome following COVID-19: a newly emerging post-infectious complication

Abstract

A 57-year-old man presented with a progressive flaccid symmetrical motor and sensory neuropathy following a 1-week history of cough and malaise. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome secondary to COVID-19 and started on intravenous immunoglobulin. He proceeded to have worsening respiratory function and needed intubation and mechanical ventilation. This is the first reported case of this rare neurological complication of COVID-19 in the UK, but it adds to a small but growing body of international evidence to suggest a significant association between these two conditions. Increasing appreciation of this by clinicians will ensure earlier diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of patients presenting with this.

Keywords: infectious diseases; intensive care; neurology; neuromuscular disease.

Figure 1

Chest imaging—chest X-ray (CXR) on admission (top left), CXR on day 3 (top right), CXR on day 7 (bottom left) and Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiogram (CTPA) on day 7 (bottom right).

Figure 2

Right common peroneal nerve conduction studies. Traces obtained from extensor digitorum brevis after stimulation of the peroneal nerve at the ankle (upper trace) and on the lateral aspect of the knee (lower trace). Prolonged distal motor latencies (7.23 ms), reduced velocities between both segments (22.3 m/s) and dispersion of the proximal potential.