Guillain-Barré Syndrome Following Fulminant Viral Hepatitis A

Abstract

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) developed soon after the onset of acute viral hepatitis A (HA) in a 62-year-old man. GBS associated with HA is extremely rare, even though HA is common. In a review of case reports the clinical features of GBS following HA could be summarized as follows: 1) Most of the patients are men. 2) GBS develops within 14 days after the onset of HA. 3) Facial nerve palsy is frequently present. 4) Proprioception is likely impaired in addition to superficial sensation. 5) The outcome of neuropathic symptoms is uniformly good, regardless of the degree of liver dysfunction as evaluated on the basis of alanine aminotransferase levels. These findings indicate that GBS following HA essentially does not differ from typical GBS. © 1994, The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine. All rights reserved.