Clinical and epidemiological characterization of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (gbs) attended at a university hospital, 2014-2018

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory polyradiculopathy characterized by acute or subacute symmetrical weakness, areflexia, with mild sensitive symptoms and autonomic manifestations. The diagnosis is essentially clinical, although further examinations are useful for differential diagnosis. Early diagnosis and treatment can modify the disease‘s natural progression. Objective: Tto describe clinical and epidemiological aspects of GBS in a university public hospital of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of GBS patients admitted to a university hospital, in Campo Grande/MS from January 2014 to December 2018. Results: Between January 2014 and December 2018, 29 patients were admitted with GBS. The incidence was 0.2/100,000 inhabitants per year. The men/women ratio was 1.6 with no statistical significance (p=0.1). Eighteen patients were admitted in the summer-spring period and 11 in the winter-autumn (p=0.1). Twenty-nine patients (93.1%) presented the classic subtype. Sixteen patients presented facial involvement (58.6%), and of these, six (37.5%) needed orotracheal intubation (p=0.1). Autonomic manifestations such as heart rate and blood pressure changes, intestinal constipation, and urinary retention were present in 62.1%. Albumin-cytological dissociation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was observed in eighteen patients with a mean protein value of 103.4 mg/dL. The average duration of hospitalization was 19,7 days and 34.5% needed intensive care. Full recovery occurred in 52.4% of patients, evaluated 60 days after discharge. Conclusion: The data obtained are in accordance with the literature. This is the first study for understanding the profile of GBS patients assisted in Mato Grosso do Sul state of Brazil.