Objectives: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory polyneuropathy characterized by postinfectious, autoimmune, rapidly ascending progressive symmetrical paralysis with areflexia/hyporeflexia. This study aimed to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment options, and long-term follow-up of GBS cases in childhood throughout Turkey.
Methods: In this national multicenter study, the demographic and clinical characteristics of the cases diagnosed with GBS in 31 pediatric neurology centers in Turkey between January 2010 and December 2021 were evaluated.
Results: Of the seven hundred twenty-six GBS patients included in the study, 58.7% were a boy, and 41.3% were a girl. The mean age was 96.5 months. The patients were followed up for an average of 21.8 months. No significant difference was observed between the seasons in which they were seen. There was a trigger infection in 69.6% of the patients. The most common infection was (47.4%) the upper respiratory tract infection, and 20.2% was acute gastroenteritis. The most common complaint was weakness in the lower extremity. The most common subtype was acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) in 46.16%. Alone Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) was the most common treatment (87.6%), followed by a combination of Plasma Exchange (PE) with IVIg (10.7%). Complete recovery was observed in 84.3% of the patients, and relapse was observed in 3.4% of them. Sequelae were seen in 15.4% of the patients.
Conclusion: GBS is the most common cause of severe, acute weakness in childhood. This study has shown how important early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are for neurological prognosis.
Keywords: Guillain-Barré syndrome, weakness, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, child
Mehmet Canpolat
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Selcan Öztürk
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Hakan Gumus
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Erhan Aksoy
Şeyda Besen
Baskent University Adana Dr. Turgut Noyan Application and Research Center
Aycan Ünalp
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Behçet Uz Pediatric Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Nihal Olgaç Dündar
Izmir Kâtip Celebi University, Tepecik Education and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Sevim Şahin
Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Sermin Özcan
Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Cem Paketçi
Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Abdullah Canbal
Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Faruk İncecik
Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Seda Kanmaz
Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Aydan Değerliyurt
Ankara City Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Arife Derda Yücel Şen
Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Çelebi Yıldırım
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Ergin Atasay
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric N
İlknur Erol
Baskent University Adana Dr. Turgut Noyan Application and Research Center
Ünsal Yılmaz
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Behçet Uz Pediatric Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Mesut Güngör
Kocaeli University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Sibgatullah Ali Orak
Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Hüseyin Tan
Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Pınar Gençpınar
Izmir Kâtip Celebi University, Tepecik Education and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Elif Acar Arslan
Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Gülten Öztürk
Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Gamze Sarıkaya Uzan
Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Burcu Calışkan
Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Hepsen Mine Serin
Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Didem Ardıçlı
Ankara City Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Ömer Bektaş
Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Ayşe Tosun
Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Müjgan Arslan
Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Coşkun Yarar
Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Adnan Deniz
Kocaeli University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Hülya İnce
VM Medical Park Samsun Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Meltem Cobanogulları Direk
Mersin University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Gökçen Öz Tuncer
Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Muhittin Bodur
Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Ayten Gülec
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Ülkühan Öztoprak
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric N
Leman Tekin Orgun
Baskent University Adana Dr. Turgut Noyan Application and Research Center
Yiğithan Guzin
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Behçet Uz Pediatric Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Çisil Çerçi Kubur
Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Fatma Hancı
Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Dilek Cavuşoglu
Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Deniz Yüksel
University of Health Sciences, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric N
Hüseyin Per
Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Neurology
Turkish Pediatric Guillain Barre Study Group Collaboration
Turkey
