Background:
Neurological manifestation and complications are common due to the coronavirus infectious disease COVID-19. It affects higher functions, cranial nerves and the motor system. It can lead to headaches, convulsions, mental and psychological changes like delirium and insomnia. Guillain Barre syndrome rarely occurs as a consequence of or in co-incidence with COVID-19. The authors report a case of Guillain Barre syndrome as an example of a success story in managing a complicated case of COVID-19 in an elderly male with signs of a poor prognosis.
Case presentation:
A previously healthy 70-year-old man presented (on the 25th of June, 2020) with a fever and cough followed by quadriplegia and facial weakness one week later. He tested positive for COVID-19, and a nerve conduction study revealed demyelinating neuropathy consistent with Guillain Barre syndrome. He received treatment in the form of intravenous immunoglobulin with marked improvement despite poor prognostic features.
Conclusion:
Patients with COVID-19 can present with any symptoms, including diseases of the nervous system and peripheral nerves such as Guillain Barre syndrome, which respond very well to IVIG treatment despite poor prognostic factors such as old age, gender, rapid onset of complete paralysis, lymphopenia and a ground-glass appearance on CT chest scans, which all existed in this case.