Mind the gap: acute bilateral vocal cord palsy in CIDP after extending the IVIG treatment interval?

Cranial nerve involvement is rarely seen in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). We present a patient diagnosed with CIDP who was in a stable medical condition under long-term treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) every five weeks for more than seven years. Following a 12-day delay in the patient’s regular IVIG therapy, he developed acute bilateral vocal cord palsy. The patient had to be intubated and tracheostomized because of acute respiratory distress. Weaning from mechanical ventilation was complicated due to pneumonia. After antibiotic treatment and restarting IVIG therapy vocal cord palsy rapidly improved allowing for subsequent decannulation. Although coincidence between treatment delay and symptom development does not prove definitive causality this case report may serve as a reminder how time critical IVIG therapy can be for sufficient symptom control. Moreover, it provides evidence that IVIG therapy may be effective for the treatment of cranial nerve symptoms in CIDP.