25 year old male noticed progressive weakness of both lower limbs mainly in the proximal region following an episode of acute gastroenteritis. He was admitted in a teiary care centre on the same day. Weakness later progressed and involved the both upper limbs. During clinical examination, the physician noticed, bilateral LMN type facial nerve involvement, weakness of all the four limbs with grade 1 power, absent deep tendon reflexes and flexor plantar response. As he developed difficulty in breathing, he was suppoed with a ventilator. He remained fully conscious during these days and bowel and bladder function was intact. What would be the first differential diagnosis in this scenario?
High-Yield Explanation
AIDP is a Subtype of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. It manifests as a rapidly evolving areflexic motor paralysis. It is an ascending paralysis that may be first noticed as rubbery legs. Weakness typically evolves over hours to a few days. Facial diparesis is present in 50% of affected individuals. Most patients require hospitalization, and in different series up to 30% require ventilatory assistance. So here we have a patient with all the classical features of AIDP is a subtype of Guillain-Barre syndrome