Prevalence and outcomes of Guillain-Barré syndrome among pediatrics in Saudi Arabia: a 10-year retrospective study

Asiri, Safiyyah; Altwaijri, Waleed A; Ba-Armah, Duaa; Al Rumayyan, Ahmed; Alrifai, Muhammad T; Salam, Mahmoud; Almutairi, Adel F

This study reported the prevalence of GBS among pediatrics complaining of acute paralysis in Saudi Arabia over a 10-year period. Male gender and respiratory problems appear to be determinants of a rapid progression to maximum paralysis. Pediatrics admitted in colder seasons and, in particular, the older age group are expected to endure residual paralysis at 60 days post disease onset. GBS can be accounted as a rare disease, especially in pediatrics, so confirmed cases should be investigated comprehensively for research purposes. Multicenter pooling of GBS-related data is crucial to boost the sample representativeness of the Saudi Arabian population and to better understand both the etiology and prognosis of this disease. Having a national GBS database will also aid in better understanding the various GBS variants with their distinctive clinical characteristics. The availability of the Saudi national biobank facility in Riyadh city could be seized to store GBS health-pertinent information and biological samples for future research analytical purposes.