Clinical Presentation of Inadvertent Intrathecal Vincristine Masquerading Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Abstract

Vincristine, a potent chemotherapeutic agent, is highly neurotoxic. If given intrathecally by accident it is almost always fatal. We are reporting a 6 year old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in complete remission, who was given inadvertent intrathecal Vincristine instead of Methotrexate. She developed gradually progressive quadriplegia and respiratory paralysis requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, initially mimicking Guillain-Barre Syndrome, both clinically and electro-physiologically. She also developed progressive encephalopathy. The clinical deterioration subsequently plateaued without any significant improvement and after more than 5 months, she finally expired.

• Authors: Agni Sekhar Saha, Md Fekarul Islam, Sukanta Bhattacharya, Prabhas Prasun Giri
• Journal: Indian journal of hematology & blood transfusion : an official journal of Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus) Vol. 32 Issue Suppl 1 Pg. 59-61 (Jun 2016) ISSN: 0971-4502 [Print] India
• PMID: 27408356 (Publication Type: Case Reports)