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. 2021 Sep-Oct;12(5):703-710.
doi: 10.32598/bcn.2021.3565.1. Epub 2021 Sep 1.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome and COVID-19 Vaccine: A Report of Nine Patients

Narges Karimi  1   2   3 , Reza Boostani  4 , Farzad Fatehi  2   3 , Akram Panahi  2   3 , Ali Asghar Okhovat  2   3   5 , Bentolhoda Ziaadini  6 , Keivan Basiri  7   8 , Siamak Abdi  2 , Farnaz Sinaei  2 , Mojtaba Rezaei  2 , Gholamreza Shamsaei  9 , Behnaz Ansari  7   10 , Shahriar Nafissi  2   3
Affiliations

Guillain-Barre Syndrome and COVID-19 Vaccine: A Report of Nine Patients

Narges Karimi et al. Basic Clin Neurosci. 2021 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy usually elicited by an upper respiratory tract infection. Several studies reported GBS associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. In this study, we described nine GBS patients following the COVID-19 vaccine.

Methods: In this study, nine patients were introduced from six referral centers for neuromuscular disorders in Iran between April 8 and June 20, 2021. Four patients received the Sputnik V, three patients received the Sinopharm, and two cases received the AstraZeneca vaccine. All patients were diagnosed with GBS evidenced by nerve conduction studies and/or cerebrospinal fluid analysis.

Results: The median age of the patients was 54.22 years (ranged 26-87 years), and seven patients were male. The patients were treated with Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) or Plasma Exchange (PLEX). All patients were discharged with some improvements.

Conclusion: The link between the COVID-19 vaccine and GBS is not well understood. Given the prevalence of GBS over the population, this association may be coincidental; therefore, more studies are needed to investigate a causal relationship.

Keywords: AstraZeneca; Coronavirus-2019; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Sinopharm; Sputnik; Vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Lumbosacral magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with contrast Sagittal and coronal T1-weighted post-contrast MRI revealed enhancement of cauda equine nerve roots suggestive of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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