Early diagnosis leading to improvement of critical illness polyneuropathy associated with severe Staphylococcus aureus infection in a patient on hemodialysis

Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) is a very rare complication of sepsis and multi-organ failure. Herein, we report the first case of CIP reported in a patient on maintenance hemodialysis, who improved with rehabilitation. A 55-year-old male patient was emergently admitted with fever and altered consciousness and diagnosed with bacterial meningitis based on cerebral spinal fluid and cranial magnetic resonance imaging findings. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus was detected in blood and cerebral spinal fluid cultures. Despite treatment with appropriate antibiotics, blood cultures were positive for 9 days and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were persistently elevated. Magnetic resonance imaging of hands and feet to determine infection origin revealed osteomyelitis in several fingers and toes, which required the amputation of 14 necrotic fingers and toes. Thereafter, blood cultures became negative and CRP levels declined. However, flaccid paralysis was noted in both upper and lower extremities during sepsis treatment. Nerve conduction studies showed peripheral axonal disorder in motor and sensory nerves, and CIP was determined as the cause of paralysis based on the fulfillment of all four CIP diagnostic criteria. The patient's muscle strength improved with early and appropriate medical treatment and physical therapy, and he was discharged home 147 days after admission. Prolonged high-level inflammation is a cause of CIP. Patients on hemodialysis, who are potentially immunosuppressed and vulnerable to infection, are at high risk for CIP. In patients on maintenance hemodialysis who develop flaccid paralysis during treatment for severe infection, CIP should be considered for early diagnosis and intervention.