scholarly journals Guillain barre syndrome and its association with covid-19 infection – A clinical case series

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-333
Author(s):  
Madhavi Karri ◽  
Deepak Jacob ◽  
Balakrishnan Ramasamy ◽  
Santhosh Perumal

A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARs-CoV-2). This pandemic has been globally alarming in the current period. Several neurological manifestations are reported occurring with the infection. Guillain barre syndrome (GBS) or acute onset inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy has been among the frequent manifestations observed among them. To know the pattern and outcome of GBS in COVID-19 affected individuals. We have taken six individuals admitted with flaccid quadriparesis in the last two months. All were affected recently by COVID 19 infection, which RT PCR of the nasopharyngeal swab confirmed. The study participants have undergone nerve conduction studies and have been diagnosed with Guillain Barre syndrome using Brighton criteria. We did cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis after admission. We initiated all patients on Intravenous immunoglobulin according to body weight (2g/kg divided over five days). We used the Barthel index score to assess the outcome of the individuals. We observed a mean duration of 18.25 days between the COVID-19 infection and the onset of symptoms. Apart from motor quadriparesis and sensory symptoms being in common, we also noticed cranial nerves and autonomic involvement. We made the diagnosis using the nerve conduction studies and Brighton criteria. After initiating intravenous immunoglobulin, all patients had a good outcome, and quality of life was better after two months of follow up. Guillain Barre syndrome is one of the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 and has a dramatic response with intravenous immunoglobulin and better outcome with treatment.

2015 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
pp. e4.158-e4
Author(s):  
Catherine Morgan ◽  
Benjamin Wakerley ◽  
Geraint Fuller

Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS) varies both in terms of clinical phenotype and underlying pathology. Serial assessments allow greater understanding of the pathophysiology. The evolution of neurophysiological changes is particularly helpful in distinguishing between demyelination and reversible axonal conduction failure.Bilateral facial weakness with distal paraesthesias is a rare subtype of GBS. In the largest case series 64% had abnormalities in motor and 27% in sensory conduction on single neurophysiological assessments; this was interpreted as a demyelinating neuropathy.We report an 18-year-old male with bilateral lower motor neurone facial weakness preceded by distal paraesthesias following a ‘flu-like illness. Examination of power and sensation was normal. Deep tendon reflexes were present. Cerebrospinal fluid showed albuminocytologic dissociation. By 6 weeks his facial weakness had almost completely resolved without treatment.Serial nerve conduction studies were performed. The first study (day 4) found prolonged distal motor latency and delayed F waves in posterior tibial and common peroneal nerves; normal sensory studies. Second study (day 18) found distal motor latencies and F waves had increased in upper and lower limb nerves. Third study (day 60) found improvement but abnormalities remained with changes similar to the first study.The neurophysiological changes became more marked while he improved clinically. These serial studies confirmed the primary pathological process of this GBS variant to be demyelination.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Cao ◽  
Hong Chu ◽  
Xiujuan Fu ◽  
Jiajia Yao ◽  
Zheman Xiao ◽  
...  

Objective: Acute bulbar palsy plus (ABPp) syndrome is a rare regional variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) characterized by acute bulbar palsy combined with other cranial symptoms or ataxia without limb and neck weakness. We aim to investigate characteristics of ABPp syndrome and analyze its nosological position within the GBS spectrum.Methods: A patient with ABPp syndrome was reported, and previous case reports of patients who met the criteria for ABPp syndrome from the literature were reviewed.Results: A total of 28 patients were included in our study. Median age was 32 years. Most of the patients (78.6%) were from Asia, and 75.0% had preceding infection. The main accompanying symptoms were ophthalmoplegia (85.7%), facial palsy (60.7%), and ataxia (50.0%). There existed asymmetric weakness in the form of unilateral facial palsy (32.1%) and ptosis (3.6%). Approximately half of the patients had albuminocytological dissociation. All the tested patients were seropositive for antiganglioside antibodies, of which the two most common were immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-GT1a (77.3%) and anti-GQ1b (59.1%) antibodies. Over one-third of the patients who underwent electrophysiological assessment showed subclinical neuropathy beyond cranial nerves. The outcome was generally favorable as 89.3% of patients made full recovery within 5 months.Conclusion: The hitherto largest case series of ABPp syndrome advances our understanding of this disease. Serologically, the presence of IgG anti-GT1a and anti-GQ1b antibodies predicts and contributes to the disease. Phenotypically, ABPp syndrome is more prone to be a separate subtype of GBS than overlap of distinct subtypes and has the potential to complement current diagnostic framework of GBS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 420 ◽  
pp. 117267
Author(s):  
Jakob Rath ◽  
Bernadette Schober ◽  
Gudrun Zulehner ◽  
Anna Grisold ◽  
Martin Krenn ◽  
...  

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