IVIG Versus Plasmapheresis and Guillian Barrie Syndrome

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory disease of the PNS and is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis, with an annual global incidence of approximately 1-2 per 100,000 person-years. Patients with GBS typically present with weakness and sensory signs in the legs that progress to the arms and cranial muscles, although the clinical presentation of the disease is heterogeneous and several distinct clinical variants exist. Diagnosis of GBS is based on the patient's history and neurological, electrophysiological, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examinations. Electrophysiological studies: provide evidence of peripheral nervous system (PNS) dysfunction and can distinguish between the subtypes of GBS: acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), and acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN). Disease progression can be rapid, and most patients with GBS reach their maximum disability within 2 weeks. About 20% of patients with GBS develop respiratory failure and require mechanical ventilation. Cardiac arrhythmias and blood pressure instability can occur owing to the involvement of the autonomic nervous system. Immunomodulatory therapy should be started if patients are unable to walk independently for 10 m. Evidence on treatment efficacy in patients who can still walk independently is limited, but treatment should be considered, especially if these patients display rapidly progressive weakness or other severe symptoms such as autonomic dysfunction, bulbar failure, or respiratory insufficiency. Clinical trials have demonstrated a treatment effect for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) when started within 2 weeks of the onset of weakness and for plasma exchange when started within 4 weeks.