Tics are abnormal, brief, sudden, and repetitive movements or sounds that comprise part of the spectrum of hyperkinetic movement disorders. We report the case of a 57-year-old female who developed intractable ‘nasal snorting’ and ‘throat clearing’ five months after treatment for the Miller Fisher variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. A diagnosis of acquired vocal tic disorder was made and treatment with tetrabenazine resulted in sustained improvement in her symptoms. There are multiple reports of tics and other hyperkinetic movement disorders being triggered by autoimmune conditions, but this is rarely described in patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. This report outlines a rare case of tic disorder in a patient with Guillain-Barré Syndrome with a review of the literature.
© 2025 Saskia P Fung, Ivonne Lichtenberg, Shoaib R Dal, published by Australasian Neuroscience Nurses Association
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