Disability evaluation in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome and SARS-CoV-2 infection from a neurological reference center in Peru

Introductionseveral cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection have been described. This study illustrated the demographic, clinical, and neurophysiological characteristics of patients with GBS and COVID-19, as well as associated factors with disability at discharge. MethodsA retrospective analytical observational study was conducted. It included patients diagnosed with GBS admitted in a national reference center in Peru between 2019 and 2021. Epidemiological, clinical, neurophysiological and cerebrospinal fluid data were analyzed. A multivariate analysis, using the generalized linear model, was performed, considering the presence of disability at discharge as the dependent variable. Results81 subjects diagnosed with GBS were included. The mean age was 46.8 years (SD: 15.2), with a predominance of males (61.73%). The most frequent clinical presentation was the classic sensory-motor form in 74 cases (91.36%) with AIDP (82.35%) as the most frequent neurophysiological pattern in the group with COVID-19, while AMAN pattern predominated (59.26%) in those without COVID-19 (p=<0.000). The disability prevalence ratio at discharge between subjects with COVID-19 and those without COVID-19 was 1.89 (CI 1.06-3.34), p=0.030, adjusted for age, sex, and neurophysiological subtype. ConclusionsThe neurophysiologic subtype AIDP, and a higher disability were associated with the presence of COVID-19.