Clinical and demographic characteristics of guillain-barré syndrome (GBS) variants in a tertiary care hospital.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate clinical and demographic characteristics of guillian-barre syndrome. Material & Methods: Study Design: Descriptive, Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Neurology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Period: December 2020 to March 2022. Results: The study identified 117 patients with GBS, and the mean age was 43.59 ± 17.39 years. There were 78 male (67%) and 39 female (33%) patients. The most common GBS subtype was AMAN (46.2%), followed by AMSAN (34.2%), AIDP (16.2%), and atypical (2.6%). The study found a significant difference in gender distribution between the two subtypes, with male patients being more likely to have axonal GBS. Regarding antecedent events, the study found that 61% of patients had a preceding illness, with gastrointestinal infection being the most common (50%). The clinical features of GBS varied by subtype, with patients with AMAN being more likely to have walking difficulty, symmetric ascending weakness, and numbness/tingling, while patients with AIDP were more likely to have a fever and respiratory distress. Conclusion: The study's findings are broadly consistent with previous research, highlighting the heterogeneity of GBS in terms of its presentation and antecedent events. However, other differentiating points that need to be taken into consideration have also been mentioned. Furthermore, work needs to be done to raise awareness among medical professionals in Nothern Pakistan regarding the salient features of the problem.