Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Dec;25(4):335-343.
doi: 10.1111/jns.12419. Epub 2020 Nov 5.

Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Imran Hasan  1 , K M Saif-Ur-Rahman  2   3 , Shoma Hayat  1 , Nowshin Papri  1   4 , Israt Jahan  1 , Rufydha Azam  1 , Gulshan Ara  5 , Zhahirul Islam  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Imran Hasan et al. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Several published reports have described a possible association between Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This systematic review aimed to summarize and meta-analyze the salient features and prognosis of SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS. We searched the PubMed (Medline), Web of Science and Cochrane databases for articles published between 01 January 2020 and 05 August 2020 using SARS-CoV-2 and GBS-related keywords. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, antecedent symptoms, clinical, serological and electrophysiological features, and hospital outcomes were recorded. We included 45 articles from 16 countries reporting 61 patients with SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS. Most (97.7%) articles were from high- and upper-middle-income countries. Forty-two (68.9%) of the patients were male; median (interquartile range) age was 57 (49-70) years. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 was positive in 90.2% of patients. One report of SARS-CoV-2-associated familial GBS was found which affected a father and daughter of a family. Albuminocytological dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid was found in 80.8% of patients. The majority of patients (75.5%) had a demyelinating subtype of GBS. Intravenous immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis were given to 92.7% and 7.3% of patients, respectively. Around two-thirds (65.3%) of patients had a good outcome (GBS-disability score ≤ 2) on discharge from hospital. Two patients died in hospital. SARS-CoV-2-associated GBS mostly resembles the classical presentations of GBS that respond to standard treatments. Extensive surveillance is required in low- and lower-middle-income countries to identify and report similar cases/series. Further large-scale case-control studies are warranted to strengthen the current evidence. PROSPERO Registration Number CRD42020201673.

Keywords: COVID-19; GBS; Guillain-Barré syndrome; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Coronavirus Resource Center - Johns Hopkins University. Accessed 8 October 2020. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):497-506.
    1. Mao L, Jin H, Wang M, et al. Neurologic manifestations of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Neurol. 2020;77(6):683-690.
    1. Helms J, Kremer S, Merdji H, et al. Neurologic features in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(23):2268-2270.
    1. Cao-Lormeau V-M, Blake A, Mons S, et al. Guillain-Barré syndrome outbreak associated with Zika virus infection in French Polynesia: a case-control study. Lancet. 2016;387(10027):1531-1539.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources