Factors predicting poor outcome in patients with fulminant Guillaine-Barre syndrome

This paper describes three patients with acute fulminant Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) with electrophysiologically inexcitable peripheral nerves not responding to two courses of intravenous immunoglobulin. Their clinical profile is compared with two other GBS patients having similar severity of disease but with demyelinative features, managed similarly during the same period. Patients who failed to respond were elderly with a mean age of 60 years, had prodromal diarrhea, rapid progression of muscle weakness requiring mechanical ventilation within 24 hours, dense weakness of all four limbs with cardiovascular autonomic symptoms and inexcitable peripheral nerves. The remaining two who recovered well were relatively younger with a mean age of 50 years, had no prodromal diarrhea, required ventilatory support by fourth day of illness, no cardiovascular autonomic symptoms and demyelinative neuropathy.