Renal Tubular Acidosis Mimicking Guillain Barre Syndrome

ABSTRACT

The typical attacks of hypokalemic periodic paralysis come on during sleep or at late night. The patients usually awaken to find mild or severe weakness of the limbs and the attacks evolve over minutes to several hours. Once established, the weakness lasts a few several hours in most cases. However, our two patients due to the hypokalemia of renal tubular acidosis showed more prolonged, progressive courses of flaccid, hyporeflexic motor weakness. Especially one patient also showed slowed motor nerve conduction velocities which were normalized after potassium correction of one day. So we initially mistook the motor weakness for Guillian Barre Syndrome.