Guillain - Barré syndrome caused by heat stroke: three cases report and literature review

Abstract

Objective To report 3 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) caused by heat stroke (HS) and review the relevant literatures, and summarize the clinical characteristics of GBS caused by HS. Methods and Results The three patients were all diagnosed and treated by The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in August 2022. The clinical manifestations were mainly weakness of limbs and dysarticulation after recovery of consciousness disorder of HS, disappearance of tendon reflex as shown by physical examination, extensive peripheral nerve damage mainly caused by axonal damage and motor nerve involvement as shown by EMG. Cerebrospinal fluid protein cell segregation phenomenon was present in Case 1 and Case 2, and the clinical diagnosis was GBS caused by HS. The muscle strength was better than before after immunotherapy, but obvious neurological dysfunction was still found after one year follow-up. Conclusions GBS caused by HS is a severe condition, often appearing within 3 weeks after HS. Immunotherapy leads to varying degrees of improvement in muscle strength; however, significant neurological dysfunction still persist, resulting in a poorer prognosis compared to general GBS.

Keywords

• summer heat stroke
• guillain-barre syndrome
• electromyography
• immunotherapy