Complications of Guillain-Barré syndrome

ABSTRACT

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated disorder in the peripheral nervous system with a wide spectrum of complications. A good understanding of the complications of GBS assists clinicians to recognize and manage the complications properly thereby reducing the mortality and morbidity of GBS patients. Herein, we systemically review the literature on complications of GBS, including short-term complications and long-term complications. We summarize the frequency, severity, clinical manifestations, managements and possible mechanisms of different kinds of complications, and point out the flaws of current studies as well as demonstrate the further investigations needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• complication
• short-term
• long-term
• peripheral nervous system

Financial & competing interest’s disclosure

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81271294, 81241147 and 81471216), the Young Scholars Program of Norman Bethune Health Science Center of Jilin University (No. 2013205035), the Young Scholars Program of the First Hospital of Jilin University (No. JDYY42013003), and the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry (3C113BK73428), as well as the grants from The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China and Swedish Research Council (K2013-66X-22337-01-3; 2015-03005). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.