Fasting Glucose Levels Correlate with Disease Severity of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: A potential association between diabetes and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been indicated by a few case studies. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of a large cohort of GBS patients to explore the relationship between the level of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) obtained in the acute phase at admission and the severity of GBS. METHODS: Three hundred and four GBS patients were divided into two groups, one with normal FPG and the other with high FPG levels according to the international standards of FPG. RESULTS: The GBS disability scale score was positively, the Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score was negatively correlated to the level of FPG, but not to blood HBA1c or CSF glucose concentrations. A relatively higher FPG level was observed in older and younger GBS patients, and more often in those with cranial nerve involvement, autonomic deficit, dyspnea and ventilator dependence than in patients without these clinical characteristics. Importantly, higher levels of FPG at admission were associated with poorer short-term prognosis measured by the MRC sum score and the GBS disability scale at discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrates that FPG in the acute phase of GBS correlates with the severity of GBS and may predict the short-term prognosis of GBS.