GUILLAIN-BARRÉ SYNDROME IN INFECTIOUS MONONUCLEOSIS

Abstract

THE PROTEAN manifestations of infectious mononucleosis include various neurological syndromes, most commonly a type of lymphocytic meningitis.¹The Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare and potentially serious complication. Although an exact enumeration of previously reported cases is difficult because varying diagnostic criteria were used, 14 probable examples of the Guillain-Barré syndrome in infectious mononucleosis may be cited²(Table). The 15th case, herein reported, is unusual for two reasons: (1) the patient was by far the oldest recorded and (2) recovery coincided with the administration of cortisone. Although cortisone has been reported to be of value in the treatment of other types of the Guillain-Barré syndrome,³its use has not previously been described in polyneuritis due to infectious mononucleosis. REPORT OF CASE A white male carpenter, aged 58 years, entered the Fresno Veterans Administration Hospital on April 5, 1952, because of increasing weakness of the legs and arms. Two months previously he