COVID-19 infection presented as Guillain-Barre Syndrome: Report of two new cases and review of 116 reported cases and case series. Issue 44 (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Elzouki, Abdel-Naser; Osman, Maab A.M.; Ahmed, Mohanad A.E.; Al-Abdulmalek, Abdulrahman; Altermanini, Mohammad; Al-Ani, Haneen A.; Naeem, Muhammad; Habas, Elmukhtar
• Is Part Of: Travel medicine and infectious disease. Issue 44(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- Novel coronavirus -- SARS-CoV-2 infection -- Guillain-Barre Syndrome -- Peripheral neuropathy -- Neurological diseases; COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 -- SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 -- CT Computed tomography -- GBS Guillain-Barre Syndrome -- MFS Miller Fisher Syndrome -- AIDP Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy -- AMSAN Acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy -- AMAN Acute motor axonal neuropathy -- BFP Bifacial weakness with paresthesias; Travel -- Health aspects -- Periodicals; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2021.102169
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1477-8939

Abstract

Abstract: Background: /Aims: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is a pandemic infectious disease of 2020, which often presents with respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. The behavior of the virus and its full clinical picture has not been fully studied yet. Many case reports and case series have been running in order to elaborate different presentations and associations. Pulmonary and gastrointestinal features of COVID-19 infection are well outlined; however, neurological manifestations are less defined. Case presentation: We report two adult cases of COVID-19 infection presented with acute Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), and a literature review on the causal association between COVID-19 and GBS. Conclusion: Our two case reports in addition to literature review of 116 published cases may help offer insight into the clinical course of COVID-19 infection. Our two COVID-19 patients presented with neurological manifestations of GBS which were not preceded with any respiratory, gastrointestinal or other systemic infection. This leads us to raise the possibility of establish direct causal association between COVID-19 infection and GBS. Physicians should have high clinical suspicions when encounter GBS patient during the current COVID-19 pandemic and consider co-existence of COVID-19 infection that may warrant SARS-CoV-2 testing, isolation precautions, and specific treatment for Covid-19 infection.