Table 1.
Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Patients With GBS.
| Elderly N = 36 |
Adult N = 94 |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age (years), mean, SD (min-max) | 69.4 ± 7.1 (60-86) | 38.4 ± 12.9 (16-59) | <0.001 |
| Gender (male), (%) | 23 (63.8) | 64 ( | 0.39 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Mellitus Diabetes, n (%) | 2 (5.5) | 6 (6.3) | 0.61 |
| Smoking, n (%) | 11 (30.5) | 27 (28.7) | 0.09 |
| High blood pressure, n (%) | 2 (5.5) | 2 (2.1) | 0.86 |
| Previous history | |||
| Upper respiratory tract infection, n (%) | 10 (27.7) | 27 (28.7) | 0.54 |
| Diarrhea, n (%) | 16 (44.4) | 34 (36.1) | 0.25 |
| Clinical features | |||
| Days from clinical onset to admission, median (IQR) | 5 (2.35-9.5) | 5 (3-80) | 0.83 |
| Hughes ≥3 at admission, n (%) | 33 (96.1) | 65 (69.1) | 0.007 |
| MRC at admission, mean ± SD | 34.7 ± 13.6 | 35.8 ± 18.2 | 0.75 |
| mEGOS, median (IQR) | 6.5 (4-8) | 5 (2-7) | <0.001 |
| Cranial nerve involvement: | |||
| Facial nerve, n (%) | 17 (47.2) | 39 (41.4) | 0.34 |
| Oculomotor nerves, n (%) | 10 (27.7) | 22 (23.4) | 0.38 |
| Lower cranial nerves, n (%) | 15 (41.6) | 22 (23.4) | 0.034 |
| Dysautonomia, n (%) | 10 (27.7) | 26 (27.6) | 0.57 |
| Blood pressure variability, n (%) | 5 (13.8) | 13 (13.8) | 0.59 |
| Heart rate variability, n (%) | 4 (11.1) | 20 (21.2) | 0.13 |
| IVM, n (%) | 15 (41.6) | 31 (32.9) | 0.23 |
| Days of IVM, median (IQR) | 37 (9-50) | 18 (10-37.5) | 0.50 |
| IVM-related complications: | |||
| Pneumonia, n (%) | 12 (33.3) | 19 (20.2) | 0.17 |
| Lung atelectasis, n (%) | 3 (8.3) | 3 (3.1) | 0.29 |
| GBS clinical variants | |||
| Sensory-motor, n (%) | 19 (52.7) | 45 (47.8) | 0.38 |
| Pure motor, n (%) | 12 (33.3) | 28 (29.7) | 0.42 |
| MFS/ Overlap, n (%) | 3 (8.3) | 17 (18.0) | 0.12 |
| Pharyngeal-cervical-brachial weakness, n (%) | 2 (5.5) | 2 (2.1) | 0.29 |
| Bifacial weakness with distal paraesthesias, n (%) | 0 (0) | 2 (2.1) | 0.52 |
| CSF analysis | |||
| Days from clinical onset to lumbar puncture, median (IQR) | 6 (4-12) | 6 (4-8) | 0.67 |
| Albuminocytologic dissociation, n (%) | 18 (50) | 26 (27.6) | 0.007 |
| CSF proteins (mg/dl), median (IQR) | 67 (35.2-113.7) | 39 (26-60) | 0.002 |
| Treatment | |||
| Conservative, n (%) | 7 (19.4) | 25 (26.5) |
0.25 |
| IV Immunoglobulin, n (%) | 20 (55.5) | 37 (28.7) | |
| Plasma exchange, n (%) | 9 (25) | 32 (35.1) | |
| Traqueostomy, n (%) | 10 (27.7) | 21 (22.3) | 0.39 |
| Gastrostomy, n (%) | 10 (27.7) | 20 (21.2) | 0.34 |
| Days of hospital stay, median(IQR) | 16 (9-44) | 9 (5-21.5) | 0.047 |
| In-hospital delirium, n (%) | 11 (30.5) | 9 (9.5) | 0.006 |
| Independent gait at 3 month follow-up, n (%) | 15 (41.6) | 32 (34) | 0.54 |
GBS: Guillain-Barré syndrome, mEGOS: Modified Erasmus GBS Outcome Scores, MRC: medical research council, IVM: Invasive mechanical ventilation, MFS: Miller Fisher syndrome, CSF: Cerebrospinal fluid, IV: Intravenous.