Pharyngeal-Cervical-Brachial Variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in a Patient of COVID-19 Infection

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has an annual incidence rate ranging from 0.4 to 1.7 cases per 1,00,000 population. Pharyngeal-cervical-brachial (PCB) variant is an extremely rare variant of GBS (3%), which presents with muscle weakness initially involving the neck, oropharynx, and upper extremities.

GBS often has an infectious inciting event leading to an autoimmune response. There has been an increase in the incidence of GBS during the COVID-19 pandemic, and several case studies have shown an association between the development of GBS and COVID-19 infection. High clinical suspicion is needed to reach a diagnosis. As PCB variant of GBS can have fatal outcomes, a good clinical knowledge of its presentation can allow timely life-saving interventions.

Here, we report a case of GBS with acute onset of neck and respiratory muscle weakness that progressed to upper limb weakness. The patient developed these symptoms two weeks after the onset of cough, fever, and malaise. PCB variant of GBS should always be considered as an important differential diagnosis in any patient presenting with limb weakness and bulbar palsy.

[Diseases with peripheral motor symptoms]

Diseases with peripheral motor symptoms are a rare, but important subgroup of the all peripheral neuropathies, radiculopathies and neuronopathies. In these mostly progressive neuropathies, the clinical features include pure motor symptoms with weakness and wasting of the striated muscles. The differentiation of these diseases is frequently a challenge for qualified clinical neurologists. A careful history taking, the disease time course, the findings of routine clinical physical examination and the electrophysiological studies are all necessary in the diagnostic procedure. The aim of this publication is to overview the clinical characteristics of the pure motor peripheral neuropathies, to consider the diagnostic steps and the differential diagnosis, and finally to summarize the treatment options.