Campylobacter-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome after orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatitis C cirrhosis: a case report.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is characterized by acute paralysis and ascending neuropathy due to an inflammatory attack on the myelin of peripheral nerves. About 2/3 of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome have an infection 1-3 weeks before the onset of the symptoms. Guillain-Barré syndrome has rarely been reported after solid organ transplantation (18 cases with three cases after liver transplantation), and these cases are mostly related to a CMV infection. We describe a 64-year-old male patient who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome related to a Campylobacter fetus enteritis, 70 days post liver transplantation. Although the patient received tacrolimus as immunosuppressant agent and is hepatitis C positive, we can conclude that the Campylobacter infection was probably the primary trigger for the development of Guillain-Barré syndrome. As T-cell response is depressed in our patient and cross-reactive antibodies (anti-ganglioside GM-1) exists after Campylobacter infection, we suppose that a humorally mediated attack is responsible for Guillain-Barré syndrome after solid organ transplantation. A review of the literature is performed.
Colle
Isabelle
I
Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Gent, Belgium
Van Vlierberghe
Hans
H
Troisi
Roberto
R
De Ridder
Katrien
K
Benoit
Dominique
D
de Hemptinne
Bernard
B
De Vos
Martine
M