title: Tuberculosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome: A chance association?
abstract: An 18-year-old boy presented with acute-onset quadriparesis that had developed 4 weeks prior. He had an intermittent fever and significant weight loss during this period. After extensive investigations, the patient was diagnosed with an acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and disseminated tuberculosis with mediastinal lymphadenopathy, pericarditis, and pleural effusion. Plasmapheresis was performed and first-line anti-tubercular therapy was administered. At the follow-up at 6 months, the patient was asymptomatic, he had no residual weakness and could walk without support, and tuberculosis had completely resolved on X-rays. Many infectious agents have been known to trigger GBS, but only a few cases of GBS and tuberculosis have been reported. This association needs to be evaluated further.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Srikant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohta
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soneja
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Surabhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vyas
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Wasim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Khot
keywords: Acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN); disseminated tuberculosis; plasmapheresis