Incidence, clinical, risk factors and outcomes of Guillain-Barre in Covid-19

We diagnosed 11 Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) cases among 71,904 COVID patients attended at 61 Spanish emergency departments (EDs) during the 2-month pandemic peak. The relative frequency of GBS among ED patients was higher in COVID (0.15 parts per thousand) than non-COVID (0.02 parts per thousand) patients (odds ratio [OR] = 6.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.18-12.5), as was the standardized incidence (9.44 and 0.69 cases/100,000 inhabitant-years, respectively, OR = 13.5, 95% CI = 9.87-18.4). Regarding clinical characteristics, olfactory-gustatory disorders were more frequent in COVID-GBS than non-COVID-GBS (OR = 27.59, 95% CI = 1.296-587) and COVID-non-GBS (OR = 7.875, 95% CI = 1.587-39.09) patients. Although COVID-GBS patients were more frequently admitted to intensive care, mortality was not increased versus control groups. Our results suggest SARS-CoV-2 could be another viral infection causing GBS. ANN NEUROL 2020

Automated summary

Among COVID patients attended at 61 Spanish emergency departments during the pandemic peak, there was a higher frequency of GBS compared to non-COVID patients. COVID-GBS patients commonly experienced olfactory-gustatory disorders, but did not have an increased mortality rate. The results suggest a possible link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and GBS.