Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection: peripheral features

Written and reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Imam, Consultant Neurologist. Last reviewed .

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection: peripheral features. The mean onset age is 55-59 years: the range is 11-94 years. Fully referenced neurology checklist.

Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS)

  • The mean onset age is 55-59 years: the range is 11-94 years
  • The mean onset time is 11 days after COVID
  • Males account for about 65-68% of cases
  • It is demyelinating in about 50% of cases
  • Features are usually typical of classic GBS
  • It may present as the pharyngeal-cervical-brachial variant
  • It may also manifest as acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN)
  • Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in all cases
  • Most cases respond to a single course of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg)
  • Causality is uncertain as the incidence is not considered higher than expected
  • There are also many case reports of Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS)

Muscle features

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Peripheral nerve features

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Others

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Synonym

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References

  1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020; 395:497-506.
  2. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Lancet 2020; 395:507-513.
  3. Guo YR, Cao QD, Hong ZS, et al. The origin, transmission and clinical therapies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak-an update on the status. Mil Med Res 2020; 7:11.  
  4. Abu-Rumeileh S, Abdelhak A, Foschi M, Tumani H, Otto M. Guillain-Barré syndrome spectrum associated with COVID-19: an up-to-date systematic review of 73 cases. J Neurol 2020 (Online ahead of print).
  5. Caress JB, Castoro RJ, Simmons Z, Scelsa SN, Lewis RA, Ahlawat A, Narayanaswami P. COVID-19-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome: the early pandemic experience. Muscle Nerve 2020 (Online ahead of print).
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