TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré Syndrome
T2 - A Case Report and Review of Literature
AU - Zito, Antonio
AU - Alfonsi, Enrico
AU - Franciotta, Diego
AU - Todisco, Massimiliano
AU - Gastaldi, Matteo
AU - Cotta Ramusino, Matteo
AU - Ceroni, Mauro
AU - Costa, Alfredo
N1 - Copyright © 2020 Zito, Alfonsi, Franciotta, Todisco, Gastaldi, Cotta Ramusino, Ceroni and Costa.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - During the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Northern Italy, we observed a 57-year-old man developing acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy, a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), 12 days after severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Similarly to other bacterial and viral infections, dysregulation of the immune system due to post-infectious mechanisms, such as the molecular mimicry, could lead to an indirect damage of the peripheral nervous system related to SARS-CoV-2. GBS causes motor dysfunctions that are not easily recognizable in non-neurological settings or in patients requiring ventilatory assistance. Several reports also suggested that GBS and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) could be neurological complications of COVID-19. Therefore, we performed a review of the 29 articles so far published, describing 33 GBS cases and five MFS cases associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We recommend awareness of this rare, but treatable, neurological syndrome, which may also determine a sudden and otherwise unexplained respiratory deterioration in COVID-19 patients.
AB - During the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Northern Italy, we observed a 57-year-old man developing acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy, a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), 12 days after severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Similarly to other bacterial and viral infections, dysregulation of the immune system due to post-infectious mechanisms, such as the molecular mimicry, could lead to an indirect damage of the peripheral nervous system related to SARS-CoV-2. GBS causes motor dysfunctions that are not easily recognizable in non-neurological settings or in patients requiring ventilatory assistance. Several reports also suggested that GBS and Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) could be neurological complications of COVID-19. Therefore, we performed a review of the 29 articles so far published, describing 33 GBS cases and five MFS cases associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We recommend awareness of this rare, but treatable, neurological syndrome, which may also determine a sudden and otherwise unexplained respiratory deterioration in COVID-19 patients.
U2 - 10.3389/fneur.2020.00909
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2020.00909
M3 - Article
C2 - 32973665
VL - 11
SP - 909
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
SN - 1664-2295
ER -