Case Report
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2010; 2(4): 162-166
Published online Apr 27, 2010. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v2.i4.162
Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with peginterferon alfa-2a for chronic hepatitis C: A case report
Mumtaz A Niazi, Ashaur Azhar, Kashif Tufail, Eyob L Feyssa, Stephen F Penny, Marlene McGregory, Victor Araya, Jorge A Ortiz
Mumtaz A Niazi, Ashaur Azhar, Kashif Tufail, Eyob L Feyssa, Marlene McGregory, Victor Araya, Jorge A Ortiz, Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA 19141, United States
Stephen F Penny, Bay Health Medical Center, Dover, DE 19901, United States
Author contributions: Azhar A, Tufail K, McGregory M and Feyssa EL contributed equally to this work and were responsible for formatting, editing, technical assistance, literature search and writing; Niazi MA, Araya V, Feyssa EL and Ortiz JA were responsible for the concept and manuscript writing; Penny SF drafted tables and figures and also provided valuable information regarding the patient, EMG and nerve conduction studies.
Correspondence to: Mumtaz A Niazi, MD, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, 5401 Old York Road, Klein Building, Suite 5-09, Philadelphia, PA 19141, United States. niazimumtaz@hotmail.com
Telephone: +1-215-4568543 Fax: +1-215-4567706
Received: October 28, 2009
Revised: March 10, 2010
Accepted: March 17, 2010
Published online: April 27, 2010
Abstract

The recommended therapy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection is the combination of a Pegylated interferon and Ribavirin. Almost all such patients on combination therapy experience one or more adverse events during the course of treatment. Significant neurological side effects are rare. A few cases of Bell’s Palsy, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and even one case of acute demyelinating polyneuropathy with atypical features for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) associated with Interferon therapy have been reported but no report of GBS with typical features has been published. We present a case report of typical GBS associated with Peginterferon alfa-2a and Ribavirin used for treatment of CHC infection.

Keywords: Guillain-Barre syndrome, Polyneuropathy, Acute demyelinating polyneuropathy, Pegylated interferon, Chronic hepatitis C