Clinical and Electrodiagnostic Characteristics of COVID-19-Associated Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Multicenter Study

ABSTRACT Background: This study aimed to define the clinical and electrodiagnostic characteristics of COVID-19-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome (C + GBS) diagnosed during a multicenter GBS study performed in Istanbul. Methods: From the patients with GBS who were prospectively included in the multicenter study conducted from April 2019 to March 2022, two groups were extracted: (1) pre-pandemic patients (PP, April 2019–February 2020); and (2) C + GBS, consisting of patients with a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test within 4–6 weeks before the onset of symptoms. Clinical features and electrodiagnostic data acquired twice in the first 21 days of GBS and between the 4th and 6th weeks of the illness were compared between the groups. Results: There were 22 patients in the C + GBS and 69 in the PP groups. Patients with C + GBS were older than those in the PP group (58.9 ± 15.4 vs. 49.8 ± 17.5, p = 0.047). Motor signs/symptoms were more prevalent in the C + GBS group than in the PP group. In the C + GBS group, demyelinating subtype was significantly more frequent (82% vs. 52%, p = 0.031), and CSF cell count was lower (0.8 ± 1.8 vs. 5.7 ± 11.7 cells/all, p = 0.007) compared with the PP group. The clinical severity scores, treatment strategies and the time from the symptom onset to the nadir did not differ between the groups. None of the C + GBS patients, except one, had anti-ganglioside antibodies. The only significant parameter was the demyelinating subtype in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Patients with C + GBS seemed to show a predominantly demyelinating subtype with no discernible differences in clinical features.

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Publication Details

Journal
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques
Published
2026-09-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2026.10659
Primary Topic
Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
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article
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article

Clinical and Electrodiagnostic Characteristics of COVID-19-Associated Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Multicenter Study

Arman Çakar, Eren Gözke, Dilek Ataklı, Reyhan Sürmeli et al.
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques
Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
article

Clinical and Electrodiagnostic Characteristics of COVID-19-Associated Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Multicenter Study

Arman Çakar, Eren Gözke, Dilek Ataklı, Reyhan Sürmeli, Ayşe Deniz Elmalı, Ferda İlgen Uslu, Yesim Parman, Vuslat Yılmaz, Metin Mercan, Volkan Taşdemir, Pınar Kahraman Koytak, Zeynep Ünlüsoy Acar, Nermi̇n Görkem Şi̇ri̇n, Ayla Culha, Kemal Tutkavul, Elif Şanlı, Meral E. Kızıltan, Onur Akan, Zeliha Matur, Özlem Çokar, Beyza Arslan, Fikret Aysal, Selahattin Ayas, Aysun Soysal, Kayıhan Uluç, Sefer Günaydın, Hafsa Bülbül, Ayşegül Gündüz, Tuzun Erdem, Destînâ Yalçın, Nurten Uzun, Esra Başar Gürsoy, NEVİN PAZARCI, V. Yayla, Sezin Alpaydın Baslo, Feray Karaali Savrun, Ali Emre Oge, Mehmet Baris Baslo, Leyla Baysal Kirac, Elif Kocasoy Orhan, F. Inci Ertas, Hacer Durmus
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: This study aimed to define the clinical and electrodiagnostic characteristics of COVID-19-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome (C + GBS) diagnosed during a multicenter GBS study performed in Istanbul. Methods: From the patients with GBS who were prospectively included in the multicenter study conducted from April 2019 to March 2022, two groups were extracted: (1) pre-pandemic patients (PP, April 2019–February 2020); and (2) C + GBS, consisting of patients with a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test within 4–6 weeks before the onset of symptoms. Clinical features and electrodiagnostic data acquired twice in the first 21 days of GBS and between the 4th and 6th weeks of the illness were compared between the groups. Results: There were 22 patients in the C + GBS and 69 in the PP groups. Patients with C + GBS were older than those in the PP group (58.9 ± 15.4 vs. 49.8 ± 17.5, p = 0.047). Motor signs/symptoms were more prevalent in the C + GBS group than in the PP group. In the C + GBS group, demyelinating subtype was significantly more frequent (82% vs. 52%, p = 0.031), and CSF cell count was lower (0.8 ± 1.8 vs. 5.7 ± 11.7 cells/all, p = 0.007) compared with the PP group. The clinical severity scores, treatment strategies and the time from the symptom onset to the nadir did not differ between the groups. None of the C + GBS patients, except one, had anti-ganglioside antibodies. The only significant parameter was the demyelinating subtype in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Patients with C + GBS seemed to show a predominantly demyelinating subtype with no discernible differences in clinical features.

Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques
University of Health Science (KH), Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi (TR), Istanbul Medipol University (TR), Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (TR), Istanbul University (TR), Marmara University (TR)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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