Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy accompanied with autonomic dysfunction. Although the mortality cause in patients hospitalized with GBS relates to cardiac arrhythmias, the electrocardiographic abnormalities in acute phase of GBS remains unclear. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 11 patients hospitalized with GBS (7 men, mean age: 63 years) to evaluate the characteristics of 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) in acute phase. Results: 12-lead ECG showed sinus rhythm in all patients. Complete right bundle branch block were seen in 2 patients and first-degree atrioventricular block in 2 patients. The PQ, QRS, and QTc intervals (mean±SD) were 160±24 ms, 100±20 ms, and 446±22 ms, respectively. J wave with the amplitude of 0.16±0.03 mV was observed in 8 (73%) patients. No patients showed lethal arrhythmias such as sinus arrest or ventricular tachycardia during hospitalization. Conclusion: J wave was frequently found among patients with GBS in acute phase, which may be related to autonomic dysfunction.