First Reported Case of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection Causing Guillain–Barré Syndrome

Acute immune-mediated polyneuropathies are a group of illnesses that cause paralysis following an infection. We describe a case of one of these illnesses being caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). An 81-year-old female was admitted for an RSV infection. She went into respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation and treatment with ribavirin. When she was extubated, she had bilateral lower extremity weakness and absent reflexes. Her disease progressed rapidly to involve her diaphragm, and eventually, the family agreed to let the natural death process occur. Our case is the first reported case in which an acute immune-mediated polyneuropathy was caused from an RSV infection.