Rapidly progressive Guillain-Barré syndrome following Escherichia coli infection

Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is a prototype of post-infectious autoimmune disease. A 76-year-old woman was treated for a renal abscess and developed muscle weakness in all four extremities, 18 days after the onset of infection. She was diagnosed with GBS on the basis of acute flaccid paralysis, hyporeflexia, nerve conduction studies (reduced amplitude of compound muscle action potentials), and high titers of IgG antibodies to GM1 and GalNAc-GD1a. GBS rarely occurs after sepsis and this case represents the first report of rapidly progressive GBS following Escherichia coli urosepsis.