Hypokalaemia with Guillain-Barré syndrome: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

Abstract

Acute-onset quadriparesis is not only debilitating and a grave concern for the patient but also perturbs the clinician as it demands early diagnosis and prompt management to prevent catastrophic outcome due to respiratory failure. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and hypokalaemia are notorious causes of acute-onset lower motor neuron (LMN) quadriparesis and warrant a rapid evaluation to necessitate early management. However, coexistence of these two entities is extremely rare and may pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge and mandates exclusion of either condition to avoid a poor outcome. We hereby report a case of a young woman who presented with an acute-onset LMN quadriparesis, initially found to have significant hypokalaemia with poor response to supplementation and was further evaluated to have an axonal variant of GBS.