Guillain-Barré syndrome
Acute immune polyradiculoneuropathy. Variants and antibodies, the red flags and Australian mimics, EGRIS and mEGOS, IVIg or plasma exchange, and the supportive care that prevents death.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Acute, usually post-infectious, immune polyradiculoneuropathy. The commonest cause of acute flaccid paralysis in Australia, at 1 to 2 per 100,000 a year, more in men and older adults.
- Classic picture: symmetric ascending weakness, areflexia and mild sensory symptoms over days, reaching its worst within 4 weeks.
- Deaths come from respiratory failure, autonomic instability, PE and infection. Measure vital capacity, not oxygen saturation (see Approach to weakness for the airway rules).
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Sources
- Criteria for the clinical use of immunoglobulin in Australia: Guillain-Barré syndromeAU/NZNational Blood Authority
- Therapeutic Guidelines: NeurologyAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited
- Australian Immunisation HandbookAU/NZAustralian Government Department of Health
- European Academy of Neurology/Peripheral Nerve Society guideline on diagnosis and treatment of Guillain-Barré syndrome (van Doorn PA et al. Eur J Neurol 2023;30(12):3646-3674)EAN and PNS, 2023
- Diagnosis and management of Guillain-Barré syndrome in ten steps (Leonhard SE et al. Nat Rev Neurol 2019;15(11):671-683)Nature Reviews Neurology, 2019
- Prediction of respiratory insufficiency in Guillain-Barré syndrome (EGRIS; Walgaard C et al. Ann Neurol 2010;67(6):781-787)Annals of Neurology, 2010
- Second intravenous immunoglobulin dose in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome with poor prognosis (SID-GBS; Walgaard C et al. Lancet Neurol 2021;20(4):275-283)Lancet Neurology, 2021
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
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