49-years-old women with unusual presentation of severe hypokalemia mimicking Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A rare case report

Acute neuromuscular weakness with associated subsequent developing respiratory failure is common neurological emergency in all emergency departments worldwide. Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) remains the most common cause of acute ascending quadriplegia presents with ascending muscle weakness associated with paresthesia and loss of deep tendon reflexes and usually preceeded by diarrheal illness or upper airway infection. Here we report 49-year-old female presented with rapidly progressing, ascending quadraparesis for 48 hours duration with subsequently complicated by respiratory paralysis due to severe hypokalemia. •Highlights (For Review).•Acute neuromuscular weakness with associated respiratory failure is not an uncommon problem to emergency departments all over the world, including Somalia.•Even though acute hypokalemia induced areflexic weakness is a rare disorder, it is a potentially treatable and reversible cause of acute ascending areflexic muscle weakness.•From this case report is, every physician and intensivist working in emergency room, especially in resource limited setting whenever they are faced with a patient presenting to ER with acute ascending flaccid quadriparesis without sensory deficit, they should determine serum electrolyte for every such patient to consider severe hypokalemia as possible & treatable differential diagnosis before unnecessary investigations and costly interventions.