UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Neurology

Title: Guillain- Barr Syndrome

Keywords: weakness, infection, paralysis, intubation, influenza, vaccine (PubMed Search)

Posted: 10/25/2017 by Danya Khoujah, MBBS
Click here to contact Danya Khoujah, MBBS

It's respiratory infection and flu vaccine season! Time to brush up on Guillain-Barré Syndrome..

- It is the most common cause of acute or subacute flaccid weakness worldwide

- 70% of cases are preceded by an infection in the past 10-14 days, but most are minimized or forgotten by the patient. 40% of these infections are by Campylobacter jejuni.

- 30% develop respiratory failure requiring intubation and ventilation

- Half of the patients will develop their maximum weakness by 2 weeks, most will develop it by 4 weeks.

References

Donofrio PD. Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Continuum 2017;23(5):1295–1309.