Abstract
Objective: COVID-19 has been associated with neurological complications such as Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Several cases have been reported but without functional outcome data after intensive rehabilitation and medium-term follow-up.
Methods: In this observational study, patients were admitted in 2019 and 2020 to inpatient rehabilitation for GBS and were examined using the Barthel index, GBS-Disability Scale, and Medical Research Scale-sum score at admission, discharge, and at least 6 months after onset of symptoms. All the participants received personalized, goal-oriented inpatient rehabilitative treatment for the recovery of self-sufficiency in everyday life.
Results: Eleven people with GBS-3 cases related to COVID-19-were admitted in 2019 and 2020 to inpatient rehabilitation. Eight patients with GBS not related to COVID-19 experienced a high complication rate during inpatient rehabilitation, with 2 deaths due to sepsis. In this cohort, a higher prevalence than expected of acute motor axonal neuropathy was also detected. The COVID-19-related GBS group did not have any complications. After a mean of 10.11 months (SD = 4.46 months), 55.55% of patients regained autonomous walking.
Conclusion: COVID-19-related GBS appeared to have a better clinical outcome than GBS that was not COVID-19 related. A higher than usual prevalence of acute motor axonal neuropathy form was encountered. More follow-up studies are needed to understand whether the recovery of GBS related to COVID-19 might be different from that of GBS unrelated to COVID-19.
Impact: No data are currently available on the follow-up of GBS in the COVID-19 era and on the functional outcome of those patients. This study provides important information indicating that GBS related to COVID-19 might have a better clinical outcome than GBS unrelated to COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19; Guillain-Barré; Inpatient Rehabilitation; SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2., inpatient rehabilitation, Guillain-Barré, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, SARS-CoV-2, rehabilitation, Sepsis, outcome, discharge, Clinical outcome, Prevalence, Cohort, Patient, death, complications, Follow-up, scale, information, Admission, Intensive, patients, Guillain-barrè syndrome, Neurological complication, follow-up study, Inpatient, participant, examined, reported, functional, provide, onset of symptoms, expected, autonomous, 【제목키워드】 clinical,