Table 1.
Characteristics of the cohort of 132 Guillain–Barré syndrome patients on the ventilator for at least 7 days in relation to prolonged mechanical ventilation
| Characteristic | Total | N (%) prolonged MV (≥14 days) | Median (IQR) days on ventilator | OR (95 % CI) for prolonged MV | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 132 | 106 (80 %) | 31 (16–63) | ||
| Demographic features | |||||
| Age (in years) | NS | ||||
| ≤40 | 41 | 32 (78 %) | 23 (16–57) | Ref | |
| 41–60 | 41 | 34 (83 %) | 40 (21–77) | 1.4 (0.5–4.1) | |
| >60 | 50 | 40 (80 %) | 30 (16–60) | 1.1 (0.4–3.1) | |
| Gender (male) | 71 | 57 (80 %) | 30 (16–63) | 1.0 (0.4–2.4) | NS |
| Clinical severitya | |||||
| Days from onset weakness to MV | 1.0 (0.9–1.0) | NS | |||
| Bulbar weakness | 28 | 22 (79 %) | 52 (15–78) | 0.9 (0.3–2.4) | NS |
| Facial weakness | 56 | 46 (82 %) | 41 (17–67) | 1.2 (0.5–3.0) | NS |
| MRC sumscore | <0.001 | ||||
| 41–60 | 18 | 7 (39 %) | 11 (8–20) | 0.2 (0.04–0.5) | |
| 21–40 | 43 | 35 (81 %) | 28 (15–44) | Ref | |
| 0–20 | 71 | 64 (90 %) | 49 (25–80) | 2.1 (0.7–6.3) | |
| M. deltoideusb | 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | <0.001 | |||
| M. deltoideus dichotomized | 0.001 | ||||
| MRC 0–2 | 61 | 58 (95 %) | 53 (27–82) | 9.3 (2.6–32.7) | |
| MRC 3–10 | 71 | 48 (68 %) | 21 (12–40) | ref | |
| M. bicepsb | 0.7 (0.6–0.9) | <0.001 | |||
| M. extensor carpi radialisb | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.001 | |||
| M. iliopsoasb | 0.7 (0.6–0.9) | <0.001 | |||
| M. quadricepsb | 0.7 (0.6–0.9) | <0.001 | |||
| M. tibialis anteriorb | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.002 | |||
| Nerve conduction studies | |||||
| AIDP | 64 | 48 (75 %) | 29 (14–54) | Q | Q |
| AMAN | 4 | 4 (100 %) | 131 (69–178) | ||
| Equivocal | 26 | 20 (77 %) | 23 (15–49) | ||
| Unexcitable | 15 | 15 (100 %) | 82 (62–171) | ||
| Infection and serology | |||||
| Symptoms of preceding infectionc | |||||
| Diarrhea | 32 | 27 (84 %) | 45 (21–112) | 1.44 (0.5–4.2) | NS |
| Upper respiratory tract infection | 47 | 33 (70 %) | 24 (13–66) | 0.4 (0.2–0.9) | 0.03 |
| Infection serologyd | |||||
| Campylobacter jejuni | 43 | 37 (86 %) | 44 (20–87) | 1.8 (0.7–5.0) | NS |
| Cytomegalovirus | 20 | 18 (90 %) | 52 (26–63) | 2.7 (0.6–12.6) | NS |
| Epstein–Barr virus | 13 | 12 (92 %) | 29 (23–73) | 3.5 (0.4–28.1) | NS |
| Mycoplasma pneumonia | 6 | 5 (83 %) | 20 (17–26) | 1.3 (0.2–11.8) | NS |
| Anti-ganglioside IgM/IgG antibodies | |||||
| GM1 | 14 | 12 (86 %) | 91 (18–176) | 1.6 (0.3–7.6) | NS |
| GD1a | 9 | 8 (89 %) | 23 (16–60) | 2.2 (0.3–18.4) | NS |
| GQ1b | 10 | 10 (100 %) | 49 (16–60) | Q | Q |
MV mechanical ventilation, IQR interquartile range, OR odds ratio, CI confidence interval, MRC Medical Research Council, AIDP acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, AMAN acute motor axonal neuropathy. Q Because of 100 % values, it was impossible to calculate ORs and p values for AMAN, unexcitable nerves, and anti-GQ1b antibodies
aAt 1 week after intubation
bSum of MRC grades for bilateral muscle groups
cSymptoms of infection in the 4 weeks preceding the onset of weakness
dUsing pretreatment serum samples obtained at entry