Clinical and Neurophysiological Pattern of Guillain-Barr Syndrome in Kuwait

Objective: To study the clinical and neurophysiological pattern of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in Kuwait. Materials and Methods: The clinical records of consecutive GBS patients admitted to Ibn Sina Hospital, Kuwait, during a 7-year period between 1997 and 2003 were analyzed. Results: Of the 41 cases, 77% were male. The majority of the cases presented during the winter months and a preceding infection was reported in two thirds of them. Proximal lower limb (LL) weakness was the predominant clinical presentation. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) demonstrated a demyelinating pattern in 70%, an axonal pattern in 15%, mixed type in 5% and no abnormality in the remaining 5%. The majority of the patients (73%) improved with one course of intravenous immunoglobulin (IV IG). Mean recovery time (MRT) was 4.4 weeks. Delayed recovery (MRT 66 weeks) was noted in patients with predominant distal weakness in the LL (MRT 7.8 weeks; p = 0.001), proximal weakness in the upper limb (UL) (MRT 6 weeks; p = 0.005), autonomic disturbance (MRT 6.5 weeks; p = 0.05), and axonal type GBS (MRT 6 weeks; p = 0.001). Conclusion: The presence of predominant distal weakness in LL, proximal weakReceived: June 7, 2005 Revised: October 12, 2005 Dr. Venkatesan Nagarajan Department of Neurology, Ibn Sina Hospital PO Box 25427, Safat 13115 (Kuwait) Tel. +965 946 0164 and +965 484 0837, Fax +965 483 5286 E-Mail [email protected] © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel 1011–7571/06/0152–0120$23.50/0 Accessible online at: