What constitutes a ‘Good’ recovery outcome in post‐acute Guillain–Barré syndrome? Results of a Nationwide Survey of post‐acute GBS sufferers in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Significantly poorer outcomes for those scoring '1' on the F-Score suggest that only those scoring '0' should constitute a 'good' outcome in GBS.

Residual disability 10years after falling ill in Guillain–Barré syndrome: A prospective follow-up study

“…Earlier, Merkies et al [26] found that 80% of patients with residual symptoms 3-6 years after onset of GBS experienced fatigue. A large postal survey in England [12] found similar results to those in the present study, namely that fatigue seems to be more severe in persons with residual symptoms.…”

“…Apart from physical disabilities, studies have shown decreased health-related quality of life (HRQL) and higher fatigue 3-8 years after GBS onset [12][13][14]. Subjective experiences of HRQL and fatigue also seem to differ between persons with residual symptoms and those who have fully recovered [12]. To our knowledge no prospective study has yet been published describing physical and psychosocial health status in persons with GBS at a later time-point than 2 years after onset.…”

“…A good outcome after GBS has mostly been associated with the capability to regain walking ability, which is often assessed with the GBS disability score [10,11]. Apart from physical disabilities, studies have shown decreased health-related quality of life (HRQL) and higher fatigue 3-8 years after GBS onset [12][13][14]. Subjective experiences of HRQL and fatigue also seem to differ between persons with residual symptoms and those who have fully recovered [12].…”

“…Long-term functional status has so far only been studied in cross-sectional studies, which have shown residual signs in 31-48% of those examined at different time-points after onset and up to 6 years afterwards (10)(11)(12)(13). A good outcome after GBS has mostly been associated with the capability to regain walking ability, which is often assessed with the GBS disability score [10,11].…”

Occurrence of fatigue over 20 years after recovery from Guillain–Barré syndrome

“…In both studies women reported major fatigue more frequently than men. Four similar studies were reported recently, in which patients after GBS were examined on average 6 to 11 years after the acute disease and showed high mean FSS values and a high proportion of patients with FSS > 5, in spite of good neurological recovery [15][16][17][18].…”