Investigating the Factors Affecting Hospitalization in Children with Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Abstract

Guillain Barre syndrome(GBS) is a neuropathy following infection by the immune system with a highly variable course and outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the length of hospital stay of patients with Guillain Barre syndrome. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective observational study, the records of 324 children with GBS admitted in Tabriz Pediatric Hospital from June 2003 to December 2013 were studied. This hospital is the largest medical center for children in northwestern Iran. Submitting a letter from the Research Unit of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences to the Pediatric Hospital Research Center, the authorization to use patient records was obtained. By carefully reviewing the existing information, the missing cases were carefully examined and any possible errors in record-keeping were eliminated as far as possible. Results: 175 patients (54%) were female and 149 patients (46%) were male. The age range was at least 6 months and maximum 16 years old and the mean was 5.13 ± 3.66 years. In this study, cases referred to summer were reported more (104 cases, 32.1%) than other seasons. In the treatment of patients with Guillain Barre, 272 (86.4%) patients were treated with IVIG, of which 206 (65.4%) received IVIG alone and 66 (21%) with IVIG They also received methylprednisolone. 17 cases (5.4%) of the patients were treated with plasmapheresis and 26 cases (8.3%) received no treatment. Sensory and autonomic nerve involvement were observed in 46.6% and 16.4% of children, respectively. Cranial nerve involvement was reported in 127 children (39.4%).Of the children under study, only 31 (9.6%) needed mechanical ventilation, with a mean of 20.75 ± 21.25 days for these children. The mean hospital stay was 10.07 ± 12.24 days, with more than half of the children (181 patients, 59.9%) discharged from hospital within one week. 107 (35.4%) children were hospitalized for one to four weeks and 14 (4.7%) were hospitalized for more than four weeks.