Acute Bulbar Palsy-Plus Variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in a 3-Year-Old Girl

• Published in: Child neurology open Vol. 9
• Main Authors: Dukkipati, Saihari S., Zhou, Daniel J., Powers, Andria M., Piccione, Ezequiel A., Koh, Sookyong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2022; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Ataxia; Case Report; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cranial nerves; Dysphagia; Gait; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Intravenous administration; Magnetic resonance imaging; Neuroimaging; Paralysis; Reflexes; Skull; Spinal cord; cranial neuropathy; influenza vaccine; stridor; inflammatory neuropathy; areflexia; vocal cord paralysis
• ISSN: 2329-048X; 2329-048X
• DOI: 10.1177/2329048X221115476

We present a case of a 3-year-old girl who rapidly developed bilateral facial palsy, dysphagia, dysphonia, areflexia, and ataxia soon after receiving an influenza vaccine. Brain and spine Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans with and without contrast showed enhancement of cranial nerves III, V, VII, and X, as well as the anterior and posterior cervical spinal and cauda equina roots. cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies showed white blood cell count of 19 cells/cm2, glucose 81 mg/dL, and protein 116 mg/dL, with negative infectious and autoimmune labs. Serum IgM and IgG antibodies against GM1, GD1a, GD1b, GM2, GT1A, GQ1b were negative. The patient was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin, which led to a full recovery. Upon three-month follow-up, her neurologic examination demonstrated normal cranial nerves, reflexes, and gait. Her presentation was most consistent with the acute bulbar palsy plus (ABPp) variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare and challenging diagnosis especially in her age group.