Delayed Recognition of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in a Child: A Misleading Respiratory Distress

Abstract

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis in childhood. Respiratory symptoms can mask neurologic signs, leading to a delay in diagnosis. We report this case to highlight the diagnostic difficulty in children suffering from GBS who have respiratory involvement as the main clinical findings on presentation. This case report describes a 9-year-old girl presenting with respiratory distress, weakness, limb pain, and hypertension. The severe respiratory involvement due to a Mycoplasma pneumoniae lung infection led to a delay in diagnosing GBS in this child. Unexplained weakness, together with respiratory involvement and associated dysautonomia, should support the possibility of GBS.