Reader Response: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Safety in Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, and Multifocal Motor Neuropathy

I appreciate the data presented by Baars et al.¹ regarding the risk of recurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome and exacerbations of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or multifocal motor neuropathy after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. As a neurologist who developed 2 separate types of peripheral nervous system dysfunction after my most recent SARS-CoV-2 vaccination booster, I am particularly attuned to this. I developed both a brachial plexopathy and also dysautonomia (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) after my third coronavirus disease vaccination.

I appreciate that the authors broke down patients by etiology of their disease. It is helpful to know that even the patients who developed their disease after vaccination did not go on to develop worsening disease after a subsequent vaccination. It would also be interesting to look at additional types of neurologic disease that occurred after vaccination (e.g., transverse myelitis). However, I think this also brings to light issue of Evidence-Based Medicine vs the Art of Medicine.

Speaking from my own personal experience, it is going to be extremely difficult to convince me (and other patients) to willingly accept another vaccination, always wondering if the next vaccination will cause yet another neurologic complication. Continuing to publish data such as these is the first step.