Frontiers in Neurology (Jun 2023)

Disability evaluation in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome and SARS-CoV-2 infection

  • Sofía S. Sanchez-Boluarte,
  • Wilfor Aguirre-Quispe,
  • Jhon Tacunan-Cuellar,
  • Arantxa N. Sanchez-Boluarte,
  • Darwin Segura-Chavez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1191520
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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ObjectiveSeveral cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection have been described. This study illustrated the demographic, clinical, and neurophysiological characteristics of patients with GBS and COVID-19, as well as associated factors with disability at discharge.Materials and methodsA retrospective analytical observational study was conducted. It included patients diagnosed with GBS admitted in a national reference center in Peru between 2019 and 2021. Epidemiological, clinical, neurophysiological, and cerebrospinal fluid data were analyzed. A multivariate analysis, using the generalized linear model, was performed, considering the presence of disability at discharge as the dependent variable.ResultsEight-one subjects diagnosed with GBS were included. The mean age was 46.8 years (SD: 15.2), with a predominance of males (61.73%). The most frequent clinical presentation was the classic sensory-motor form in 74 cases (91.36%) with AIDP (82.35%) as the most frequent neurophysiological pattern in the group with COVID-19, while AMAN pattern predominated (59.26%) in those without COVID-19 (p = <0.000). The disability prevalence ratio at discharge between subjects with COVID-19 and those without COVID-19 was 1.89 (CI 1.06–3.34), p = 0.030, adjusted for age, sex, and neurophysiological subtype.ConclusionThe neurophysiologic subtype AIDP, and a higher disability were associated with the presence of COVID-19.

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