Comparison of Clinical Features, Short-Term Outcome of Guillain-Barré Syndrome Between Adults and Children: A Retrospective Study in Vietnam

IntroductionDespite extensive research on Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults and children, there is a lack of comparison regarding short-term outcomes in various age groups. Our study aims to elucidate differences in clinical features and short-term outcomes in Vietnam.MethodsAfter retrospective data collection, we compared clinical features in GBS patients ≤16 years at Children's Hospital 2 and >16 years at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City from 2017 to 2021. A positive short-term outcome was recorded if patients had a GBS Disability Score of 0-2 at hospital discharge.ResultsWe analyzed 109 adults (58.7% males; mean age 50.6 ± 17.7) and 111 children (58.6% males; mean age 7.2 ± 4.9). The antecedent infection and immunization incidence in both groups were comparable (35.8% vs. 45.9%, p>0.05). The most frequent onset in adults was pain and sensory disturbance (57.8%) while that in children was lower limb weakness (61.3%). Ophthalmoplegia (18.3% vs. 5.4%), pain, sensory disturbance (85.3% vs. 67.6%), and ataxia (33.0% vs. 15.3%) were more prevalent in adults (p<0.05). The axonal subtype was prominent in both adults (51.4%) and children (53.2%). We classified patients according to new criteria: classic GBS (49.5% and 68.5%), GBS variants (11.0% and 15.3%), classic Miller – Fisher syndrome (MFS) (1.8% and 1.8%), MFS variants (2.8% and 0%) and GBS/MFS overlap (34.9% and 14.4%). There was no difference in the short-term outcome in terms of age.DiscussionAge-related variations in clinical features were observed in this study, but adults and children exhibited similar short-term functional outcomes.