Guillain-Barre syndrome following snake bite: An unusual complication

Abstract

A 40-year-old man presented with a nonhealing wound on the left ankle for the last 5 weeks, a tingling sensation in both hands for 20 days, and weakness in all four limbs for 10 days. He had been bitten by a snake while working in a sugarcane field 6 weeks earlier and had received tetanus toxoid and anti-snake venom on the day of the bite. He had clinical, biochemical, and electrophysiological features of Guillain-Barré syndrome, with motor and sensory neuropathy-primarily suggestive of demyelination with secondary axonal degeneration. Recognition of this unusual complication following snake bite or use of anti-snake venom / tetanus toxoid has considerable epidemiological, therapeutic, and prognostic significance.

Keywords

• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• neuropathy
• snake bite
• tetanus toxoid