Rao Suhail Y Khan, Sabir Ali, Shahid Irfan, Faiza Naseem.
Frequency of Cranial Nerve Involvement in Patients with Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;11(3):115-8.

Objective: To determine the frequency of cranial nerves involvement in patients with Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome Study design: Cross sectional/observational study Place and duration: This study was done in neurology ward of PIMS Islamabad and medical wards of Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur from March 2014 to April 2015. Materials and methods: Patients of either gender presenting with the primary diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome having age of 15 years or above and admitted to neurology ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad and medical wards of Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur were included in the study. Diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome was made on nerve conduction studies. Facial palsy (unilateral or bilateral facial weakness), bulbar palsy (dysphagia, nasal regurgitation, slurring of speech, weakness of the soft palate and/or absent gag reflex) and need of mechanical ventilation within first two weeks of start of disease were recorded on preformed proforma. Results: 106 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 34.75 years with standard deviation of 16.590 years. Out of 106 patients, 75 (70.75%) patients were male and 31 (29.25%) were female. 32 (30.19%) patients had facial nerve palsy, 42 (39.62%) patients had bulbar palsy and 35 (33.02%) had need of mechanical ventilation. Conclusion: About one third of GBS patients have some degree of cranial nerve dysfunction during their illness. Bulbar palsy is more common followed by facial weakness.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com