Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an antibody mediated peripheral nerve disorder that commonly presents after infection, usually campylobacter jejuni.8 Guillain Barré can be broken down into two different forms: axonal and demyelinating. The demyelinating form is termed acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. The axonal form can further be categorized into acute motor neuropathy and acute motor and sensory neuropathy. In typical cases of GBS, patients present with acute, progressive, symmetrical, ascending flaccid paralysis reaching peak severity within 5-9 days of symptom onset. All forms of GBS are diagnosed clinically. Patients who present with the progression of symptoms as mentioned above are thought to have GBS unless a better diagnosis is available.7 However, diagnosing GBS can become difficult when patients present with atypical symptoms. The case discussed in this article focuses on the complexity of diagnosing and treating patients who present with atypical GBS symptoms.
Stercoral colitis presentation is highly variable but is commonly found in individuals with specific risk facts such as a history of chronic constipation or chronic opioid use or the elderly. However, the patient whom this case study will discuss, did not fall into any of these risk factor categories. As a result, stercoral colitis was not on the initial potential differential diagnoses list. The diagnosis of stercoral colitis in our patient was determined by following general medical protocol for abdominal symptoms, such as obtaining labs and imaging studies. It is important to detect stercoral colitis early because if left untreated, it could lead to bowel perforation which significantly increases the patient’s mortality risk. This case study will explore the risks, detection tools, complications, and treatments for stercoral colitis further.
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