Incidence and factors associated with disability and dependency in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome in the Region of Murcia: Population study for the period 2009-2020

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is variable and is still unknown in our geographical area. Poor prognostic factors have been studied, but few have analysed those that influence long-term results. The objective of this study is to know the incidence, characteristics and factors associated with disability and dependency in these patients from a population registry. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Observational study in patients diagnosed with GBS from 2009 to 2020 and registered in the Rare Disease Information System of the Region of Murcia (SIER). The crude and adjusted rates for age, sex and year of the period were calculated and the associations between disability and/or dependency with the rest of the variables were analysed. RESULTS: During the study period, 250 incident cases were diagnosed. The standardised incidence rate (SIR) was 1.52/100,000 person-years, higher in men and increasing with age in both sexes. The disease was more frequent after respiratory infections (46.4%) and in the cold months (56.4%), and the predominant variant was AIDP (54.3%). Greater disability and/or dependence were observed in patients with prolonged hospital stay (OR?=?13.19; 95% CI: 3.81-45.67), ICU admission (OR?=?2.37; 95% CI: 1.11-5.06) and affected by axonal variants (OR?=?3.54; 95% CI: 1.64-7.69) (P?<?0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The regional SIR is consistent with that reported in the national and international literature. 18.4% of the cases have recognised dependency and/or disability, associated with the axonal forms of the disease. Studies based on population registries offer representative and updated information and allow us to discover characteristics associated with a worse prognosis.