COVID–19 and Guillain–Barré syndrome

Abstract

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) which is an acute immune–mediated neuropathy is developed after antecedent infections such as Campylobacter jejuni, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and various virus. In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) occurred by severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2) infection in Wuhan, China, and it has rapidly expanded worldwide. A first case with GBS associated with COVID–19 was reported in April 2021. Some systematic reviews and research papers have described the characteristics of GBS following COVID–19 (e.g., facial palsy in 30–40%, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy by electrophysiological examination in 80%, and negative for anti–ganglioside antibodies in more than 90%). A meta–analysis has shown that the prevalence of GBS is presumed to be 0.15‰ amongst COVID–19 patients. On the other hand, GBS following SARS–CoV–2 vaccination also has been reported although the incidence was approximately 1 case per 1,000,000 doses. Further investigations regarding epidemiology of GBS after pandemic of COVID–19 are required in future.