Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in Children, the Experience of Senegal

Abstract

Introduction: GBS is a rare condition in children. The risk factors for GBS are present in Africa; however, the majority of studies reported are case series. The objective of our work was to evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of GBS cases. Material and Method: This was a prospective longitudinal study, lasting 24 months between November 2019 and November 2021. All patients aged 2 - 18 years diagnosed with GBS according to the Brighton criteria (level 2) were included in our study. Patients with incomplete or unexploitable records were excluded. Results: Over a 24-month period, 16 cases of GBS were collected. These included 12 boys (75%) and 4 girls (25%). The demyelinating form (ADIP) was found in 9 children (43.75%) and the axonal form in 7 patients (37.5%), 5 of whom had pure motor involvement (AMAN) and 2 with sensory-motor involvement (AMSAN). Corticosteroid therapy was more effective in treating pain and in demyelinating forms. Three deaths were noted and all had AMAN. Conclusion: GBS poses a management problem in our context of a country with limited resources. Corticosteroid therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of pain and demyelinating forms of the disease and should be considered for use in GBS.