Miller Fisher Variant of Guillain-Barre Syndrome Secondary to Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Case Report with Review of Literature

Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is one of the common causes for acute flaccid paralysis in adults and mostly preceded by infection. Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) is a rare variant of GBS with incidence of 1 to 2 in 1,000,000. This syndrome has a triad of ataxia, areflexia, and ophthalmoplegia and diagnosed when two out above three features are present. It usually preceded by viral infection, most commonly Campylobacter jejuni, cytomegalovirus, and Epstein–Barr virus. However, it is very rarely reported in pulmonary tuberculosis. The pathogenesis involves an aberrant immune response due to molecular mimicry against myelin gangliosides. Hereby we are presenting an unusual case of MFS variant of GBS associated with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Keywords

• intensive care unit
• Miller Fisher syndrome
• plasmapheresis
• tuberculosis
• pulmonary