Concomitant Guillain-Barré Syndrome in a young Sri Lankan male with severe ulcerative colitis

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is an immune mediated polyneuropathy. Ulcerative Colitis is an immune mediated chronic inflammatory condition mainly of the large intestine. Guillain-Barré Syndrome can present as a rare extraintestinal manifestation of Ulcerative Colitis when in remission or in a relapse. However, the concomitant presentation of Guillain-Barré Syndrome during a relapse of Ulcerative Colitis is very rare and only a few cases are reported to date.

A 24 year old young male diagnosed of Ulcerative Colitis presented with bloody diarrhea of frequency more than six times a day. He had been in clinical remission even after defaulting treatment for more than a year. He had also noted difficulty in walking prior to admission to the hospital. He was managed as for a severe relapse of Ulcerative Colitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Appropriate management of both the illnesses helped him to recover.

Immune mediated diseases can have rare coexisting presentations. We report a case of Ulcerative Colitis with concomitant Guillain-Barré Syndrome. It is essential to be open minded and timely, appropriate treatment led to successful management of both the illnesses.