Sensory Guillain-Barré syndrome

This report describes a clinical syndrome of a sensory variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). A patient presented at our medical center with symptoms that began two weeks after she had had a normal childbirth. Symptoms included acute, rapidly progressive, and symmetrical sensory loss; areflexia; and mild nonprogressive weakness. Nerve conduction studies done at the time of her admission showed late response abnormalities consistent with GBS. Follow-up studies one week later were consistent with a predominantly sensory neuropathy with minimal motor deficits. Within a few months, both her sensory symptoms and motor weakness had markedly improved. Except for the predominance of sensory rather than motor deficits, these findings are consistent with those of GBS. The case for a sensory variant of GBS is further supported by autopsy findings as described by Dawson and associates.