Campylobacter diarrhea and Guillain-Barré syndrome

Abstract

Four of 106 consecutive patients with acute Guillain-Barré syndrome had preceding bacterial enteritis caused by Campylobacter jejuni. One had a severe illness with axonal damage and poor outcome; three had typical courses with good recovery. Preceding illnesses in the other 102 patients were the following: diarrhea in nine (with negative stool cultures in five), upper respiratory tract infections in 46, hepatitis in six, other infectious illnesses in eight, and none in 33. Eight patients previously reported with Campylobacter associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and the serologic and clinical diagnosis of Campylobacter enteritis in this context, are reviewed.