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

• Published in: Frontiers in neurology Vol. 14; p. 1191520
• Main Authors: Sanchez-Boluarte, Sofía S., Aguirre-Quispe, Wilfor, Tacunan-Cuellar, Jhon, Sanchez-Boluarte, Arantxa N., Segura-Chavez, Darwin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 29.06.2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; disability evaluation; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Neurology; polyneuropathy; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Guillain-Barre syndrome; disability evaluation; polyneuropathy
• ISSN: 1664-2295; 1664-2295
• DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1191520

Several 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. A 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. Eight-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 (  = <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),  = 0.030, adjusted for age, sex, and neurophysiological subtype. The neurophysiologic subtype AIDP, and a higher disability were associated with the presence of COVID-19.