Pain during the acute phase of Guillain–Barré syndrome

In this study, we tried to describe the characteristics of pain and explore the association between the incidence of pain and abnormal laboratory test results in patients during the acute phase of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS). This retrospective cohort study enrolled 252 patients with GBS who were in the acute phase of the disease. We collected data regarding the location and type of pain, the onset time, clinical variables and laboratory tests, including the levels of uric acid (UA), albumin, cerebrospinal fluid protein (CSFP), cerebrospinal fluid glucose (CSFG), fasting glucose upon admission, and blood creatinine. The pain descriptors were compared to the severity of disease and laboratory examination results. Around 34.5% of the patients reported pain during the acute phase of GBS. Pain was negatively correlated with the disease severity during the acute phase. In total, 29 of the 87 (33.3%) patients reported pain during the 2 weeks preceding the onset of weakness. The concentration of CSFP was positively associated with the incidence of pain, while the concentrations of UA and albumin were not correlated with the incidence of pain. We found that 33.3% of the GBS patients experienced pain within 2 weeks of onset, and the pain was positively associated with CSFP concentration but was not correlated with disease severity.