Successful treatment with therapeutic plasmapheresis of a pediatric patient with Guillain‐Barré syndrome associated with neurobrucellosis

Abstract

Brucellosis is a multisystemic disease that can present with multiple signs and symptoms. Rarely, brucellosis can manifest as neurobrucellosis, with central or peripheral nervous system involvement. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a post-infectious autoimmune disease that progresses rapidly, causing ascending muscle weakness, and is accompanied by areflexia/hyporeflexia. Regarding GBS etiology, it is thought to be an autoimmune disease, triggered by a previous bacterial or viral infection. There are a few Brucella-associated GBS case reports in the literature and in our opinion, only one of them is a pediatric patient. Herein we reported a case of GBS associated with neurobrucellosis, who was successfully treated with therapeutic plasmapheresis (TP) due to poor response to IVIG treatment.

Diagnostic Pitfalls in Guillain–Barré Syndrome: Case Report and Literature Review

“…The results of all of these measurements were negative for our patient. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, as well as Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Borrelia burgdorferi , Epstein–Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma gondii infection [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ], all known as trigger factors for GBS, could not be identified in our patient.…”