Patient characteristics and the effects of intravenous immunoglobulin in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to determine the diagnosis- and treatment-related characteristics in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and to evaluate the effects of early intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment on disability, mortality and prognosis. Materials and methods - Adult patients who were diagnosed with GBS in our clinic between January 2000 and January 2014 were retrospectively scanned. While the patients undergoing IVIg treatment were included in the study, the other neuropathic diseases were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups based on the administration time of the IVIg treatment; Group 1 (<7 days) and Group 2 (≥ 7 days) Group 1 consisted of patients undergoing IVIg treatment within 7 days after presentation of symptoms and Group 2 consisted of patients undergoing IVIg treatment on and after 7th day following presentation of symptoms. The scores from Hughes Functional Grading Scale (HFGS) on admission and one month laterwere recorded in all patients in order to evaluate the disability and prognosis in terms of demographic and clinical laboratory characteristics. Results - In this study, 49 GBS patients were included (31 patients in Group 1 and 18 patients in Group 2). Demyelinating form of GBS was determined in 22 (44.8%) patients.). While there was no difference between both groups (p: 0.288, p: 0.762, p: 0.693 respectively) in terms of intensive care and rehabilitation requirement and progression, only 2 patients in Group 1 died. While HFGS mean score on admission in all the patient groups was 3.27±0.974, their HFGS mean score at month 1 was 2.53±1.226. There was no difference between the groups in terms of HFGS mean scores on admission and at month 1. Within each groups, there was a significant improvement between initial (on admission) HFGS scores and HFGS scores acquired at month 1. Conclusion - In this study, demyelinating form was more frequent than axonal form. A total of 2 g/kg dose of IVIg treatment administered for 5 days as a standard in GBS patients ensured a significant improvement on both disability and early and late administration and early administration of the treatment does not lead to any difference in intensive care unit and rehabilitation requirements.