Recurrence of childhood Guillain-Barré syndrome after a long asymptomatic interval: a case report.

We present a patient who rapidly developed flaccid paralysis in all 4 limbs on 2 separate occasions 19 years apart. Each episode was accompanied by a respiratory failure that required intubation. Both times, clinical response to immunotherapy was favorable with a near complete recovery. Clinical course, laboratory and electrodiagnostic findings, and favorable response to therapy suggest 2 separate attacks of Guillain-Barré syndrome. The reported case adds to a small series of cases of recurrent Guillain-Barré syndrome after a long asymptomatic period. In such cases, the distinction from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy should be made.