Abstract
Objective: In certain situations, severe forms of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) show no response or continue to deteriorate after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) infusion. It is unclear what the best treatment option would be in these circumstances. Method: This is a case report on patients with severe axonal GBS in whom a second cycle of IVIg was used. Results: Three patients on mechanical ventilation who presented axonal variants of GBS, with autonomic dysfunction, bulbar impairment and Erasmus score > 6, showed no improvement after IVIg infusion of 400 mg/kg/d for 5 days. After 6 weeks, we started a second cycle of IVIg using the same doses and regimen as in the previous one. On average, 5 days after the second infusion, all the patients were weaned off mechanical ventilation and showed resolution of their blood pressure and heart rate fluctuations. Conclusions: A second cycle of IVIg may be an option for treating severe forms of GBS.
Translated title of the contribution | Is a second cycle of immunoglobulin justified in axonal forms of Guillain-Barré syndrome? |
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Original language | Portuguese |
Pages (from-to) | 848-851 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2015 |
Keywords
- Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
- Flaccid acute paralysis
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
- Immunoglobulin
- Immunotherapy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Biological Psychiatry