title: Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with acute hepatitis E infection.
abstract: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a neurological emergency that warrants prompt diagnosis and treatment. Occasionally, the clinical, laboratory and electrophysiological features are neither typical nor diagnostic. It requires a high index of suspicion and clinical judgement for early diagnosis and commencement of treatment in those scenarios. Some pathogens are potential triggers of this serious neurological disease, including: Campylobacter jejuni, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus. Although uncommon, hepatotrophic viruses (hepatitis A, B and C) are increasingly recognized to be triggering microbes. Here, we report a patient with unusual GBS triggered by an atypical microbe, hepatitis E virus, in a Chinese patient, via a common route of transmission in this locality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Room A1, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR. acttse@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Alan C T
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Raymond T F
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Shu Leong
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Koon Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010956:Plasmapheresis