Long-term impact on work and private life after Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Objective: To determine the long-term impact of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) on work and private life of patients and their partners.

Methods: Three to six years after the onset of GBS 150 patients who participated in the Dutch Guillain-Barré trial received a questionnaire specifically drafted for this study to survey their present psychosocial status. Furthermore, their present physical status was established.

Results: A total of 122 patients participated. Thirty-one percent showed moderate to serious physical residua after a functional assessment. Due to GBS, 38% of the patients who held a job had to change it, 44% altered their leisure activities, 37% of the patients did not function as well at home as before GBS and 39% reported a change in their partners' lives. Almost half of the patients still had negative comments on their present psychosocial situation.

Conclusion: GBS has a serious long-term impact on the patients' work and private life and that of their partners.