title: Guillain-Barré syndrome following bee venom acupuncture.
abstract: Bee venom acupuncture has been widely used in Oriental medicine with limited evidence of effectiveness. Most of the complications due to bee venom acupuncture are local or systemic allergic reactions. However, serious medical and neurological complications have also been reported. We herein describe the treatment of a 68-year-old woman who developed progressive quadriplegia 10 days after receiving multiple honeybee venom sting acupuncture treatments. The electrophysiological findings were consistent with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The temporal relationship between the development of GBS and honeybee venom sting acupuncture is suggestive of a cause-and-effect relationship, although the precise pathophysiology and causative components in honeybee venom need to be verified.
authors: Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.
authors: Hyun Jo
authors: HJ
authors: Lee
authors: In Seok
authors: IS
authors: Park
authors: Jon-In
authors: JI
authors: Lee
authors: Joong-Seok
authors: JS
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001514:Bee Venoms