Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Guillain-Barre Syndrome: A Four-Year Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Hospital in the Philippines

Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is the leading cause of acute neuromuscular weakness in the developed world. In this retrospective study, a total of 34 patients were identified and diagnosed with GBS from January 2016 to December 2019. The Brighton criteria was used to classify the certainty and diagnosis of GBS. The clinical profile and outcomes were then determined. GBS was seen in all age groups with a mean age at 47.9 with a slightly male predominance. The majority(47%) of patients had a history of respiratory infection although almost 30% had no known triggering event. The most common presenting symptom was ascending paralysis followed by complaints of cranial nerve involvement. Younger age and less severe disease presentation at onset correlate with a more favorable outcome. Patients who presented earlier after the triggering event were noted to have a faster rate of progression of symptoms and a worse outcome. The common GBS variants in this study according to nerve conduction studies were AMSAN and MFS. Methylprednisolone and IVIG were both effective with no statistical significance noted. The in-hospital mortality rate was at 3%. Majority of patients had a good functional outcome.