title: A rare stress cardiomyopathy in a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome.
abstract: We report on a 39-year-old woman who was intubated because of progressive respiratory failure due to muscle weakness and mucous plugging because of Guillain- Barré syndrome. Shortly after uncomplicated intubation she developed hypotension and a profound tachycardia. The electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia with nonspecific ST-T segment changes. Echocardiography showed akinesia of the apex, septum and inferior left ventricular wall with an estimated left ventricular ejection fraction of 10%. It was concluded that the patient was suffering from takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Following treatment, she experienced a complete recovery. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a rare complication in Guillain-Barré syndrome; eight other cases have been reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.forename: P J W
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Dennesen
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Veldkamp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D054549:Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*