Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) encompasses the variants of acute immune-mediated polyneuropathies usually preceded by an infection. A few case reports have associated GBS to neoplastic diseases. It remains unclear whether these are merely coincidental or represent paraneoplastic phenomena. The clinical features of GBS associated with oncological cases do not appear to differ from post-infectious GBS. We report a 74-year-old man in whom small cell carcinoma of lung (SCLC) was diagnosed during a presentation with GBS. Treatment with chemotherapy for SCLC and intravenous immunoglobulins led to complete neurological recovery and tumor regression.

Eosinophilic pleural effusion is defined as an effusion in which eosinophils constitute more than 10% of white blood cells. These effusions can be due to multiple causes with drugs being implicated as one of the etiological agents. We report a case of 48-year-old woman with seizure disorder on divalproex sodium (Depakote) who presented with dyspnea. A chest radiograph demonstrated right pleural effusion. Investigations showed peripheral blood eosinophilia with thoracocentesis revealing eosinophilic exudative pleural effusion. An extensive workup for other causes of eosinophilic pleural effusion was unrevealing. Withdrawal of Depakote resulted in resolution of the effusion.

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