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Case report
Guillain-Barre syndrome following the first dose of the chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine, ChAdOx1
  1. Shreena Umit Patel1,
  2. Ruhaid Khurram1,
  3. Anjali Lakhani2 and
  4. Bernadine Quirk1
  1. 1Radiology, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
  2. 2ITU/ Anaesthetics, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Shreena Umit Patel; shreena.patel3{at}nhs.net

Abstract

Prevention strategies for COVID-19 transmission are at the forefront of healthcare paradigms worldwide, the main emphasis of which is vaccination. We present an interesting case of a 37-year-old man who, 3 weeks following his first dose of the chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine, ChAdOx1, presented to hospital with a rapidly progressive ascending muscle weakness and back pain in the absence of any other triggers. He also had a negative COVID-19 swab during admission. A diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome was confirmed by correlating the clinical features with cerebrospinal fluid analysis, nerve conduction studies and MRI of the brain and whole spine. The patient received treatment with 5 days of intravenous immunoglobulin and did not require any respiratory support. He was also regularly reviewed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of neurologists, speech and language therapists, and physiotherapists and is on the course to a recovery.

  • healthcare improvement and patient safety
  • vaccination/immunisation
  • neurology
  • radiology
  • COVID-19

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-242956

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors SUP and RK played a lead role in conception, formulating and writing the manuscript. AL is a clinical fellow in intensive care who provided a detailed clinical history and reviewed the manuscript. BQ is a consultant neuroradiologist who provided expert opinion pertaining to the imaging features and reviewed the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer-reviewed.