Guillain-Barré Syndrome Associated with COVID-19: Is There A Causal Relation or Just A Coincidence?

ABSTRACT

After the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), several case reports and case series of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with COVID-19 have been published to unravel the possible causal link between GBS and COVID-19. In this brief report, the epidemiological data from regions in different countries was reviewed. Some studies report an increase in the incidence of GBS during the pandemic while the others do not. The clinical features of GBS associated with COVID-19 was older age, male predominance, and typical sensorimotor variant responding well to treatments. The most common electrodiagnostic subtype was demyelinating. Despite the high effort, the causal relation between COVID-19 and GBS remains controversial. Case-control studies with high number of patients are needed to understand the relation between GBS and COVID-19.