Guillain-Barré syndrome: rehabilitation outcome and recent developments

Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common polyneuropathy causing major disability and respiratory failure. Respiratory complications are the main cause of death. Improved respiratory care and new treatment strategies such as plasmaphoresis and immunoglobulin have been shown to improve outcome. We s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Yale journal of biology & medicine 1998-09, Vol.71 (5), p.383-389
Main Authors: Melillo, E M, Sethi, J M, Mohsenin, V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Diarrhea - complications
Disabled Persons
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Guillain-Barre Syndrome - etiology
Guillain-Barre Syndrome - rehabilitation
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Respiration, Artificial
Respiratory Insufficiency - etiology
Respiratory Insufficiency - therapy
Respiratory Tract Infections - complications
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common polyneuropathy causing major disability and respiratory failure. Respiratory complications are the main cause of death. Improved respiratory care and new treatment strategies such as plasmaphoresis and immunoglobulin have been shown to improve outcome. We studied the course and outcome of 37 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome who were admitted to a rehabilitation and respiratory care facility over a 10-year period. There were 21 males and 16 females with a mean age of 62+/-3 years. Fourteen patients developed respiratory failure requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 38+/-10 days. All patients were successfully liberated from the ventilator. However, 83 percent of the patients were moderately to severely disabled at the time of discharge. Thirteen out of 37 (35 percent) developed long-term disability. None of the patients died over the period of follow-up. These results indicate that early recognition and treatment of respiratory complications in Guillain-Barré syndrome could reduce the morbidity and mortality of this condition.
ISSN:0044-0086
1551-4056