Guillain-Barré syndrome in a 63-year-old patient possibly triggered by ehrlichiosis. Case report

Abstract

Guillain-Barré syndrome is an immune-mediated acute demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, characterized by progressive flaccid weakness, triggered mainly by respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. We present the case of a 63-year-old male patient with a history of Ehrlichia infection, who consulted the internal medicine emergency department for lower back pain and progressive lower limb paresthesia, accompanied by decreased lower limb strength and nerve conduction velocity test, with results compatible with acute demyelinating sensorimotor polyradiculoneuropathy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented case in Honduran medical literature; in our research, no other cases were found in Latin America or Europe. The importance of the topic and its dissemination in countries where Ehrlichia infection exists is that when cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome that cannot be associated with previous gastrointestinal or respiratory infection, they could be attributed to Ehrlichia infection as a possible cause; therefore, exhaustive preventive measures can be established regarding the transmitting vector of ehrlichiosis.

Keywords: Acute autoimmune neuropathy; Ehrlichiosis; Guillain–Barré syndrome.