The economic burden of Campylobacter-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by acute neuromuscular paralysis. Of an estimated annual number of 2628-9575 US cases, 526-3830 are triggered by Campylobacter infection. Research objectives were to identify the lifetime consequences of GBS and, when possible, to quantify their economic burden. The cost-of-illness method was used to calculate annual societal resources spent on medical care and lost productivity due to illness or premature death from Campylobacter-associated GBS. Estimated total costs (in US$) of Campylobacter-associated GBS ($0.2-$1.8 billion) were added to previously estimated costs of campylobacteriosis ($1.3-$6.2 billion) for a total annual cost from Campylobacter of $1.5-$8.0 billion (1995 dollars). It is concluded that up to $8.0 billion in US human illness costs are spent annually because of Campylobacter infection. Economic evaluation of the other costs associated with GBS, such as physical and psychological costs, would increase these estimates.

Guillain-Barré syndrome: biological basis, treatment and care.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a complex disorder that affects around 0.5-2 individuals per 100,000 per year (Hund et al 1993). The outcome can range from a sensation of paraesthesia to death. This article discusses the biological nature of Guillain-Barré syndrome, major diagnostic criteria and the treatment that is available. It highlights the nurse's role in management of the syndrome and describes how the extent of the syndrome in individual patients may be evaluated in the clinical area.

Guillain-Barré syndrome leading to a conversion reaction in a teenage girl. Case report.

Conversion disorder can sometimes simulate Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). This often involves the mimicry of organic symptoms similar to those experienced by a relative or acquaintance. The patient with the conversion unconsciously adopts these symptoms to convert their psychologic stress to a physical phenomenon. This case is of 15-yr-old girl who had a documented case of GBS and who subsequently had recurrent episodes of a conversion disorder that simulated her original GBS presentation. The methods for diagnostically separating recurrent GBS from conversion reaction are noted.

Understanding and coping with neurological impairment.

Neurological impairment includes many specific types of changes in the central and the peripheral nervous systems, and the range of variation is enormous. This article presents a case study of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a particular neurological syndrome that affected the author. Patients, families, caregivers, and health professionals may find the insights useful for understanding and appreciating neurological impairments and for acting in ways that will be helpful to those with a neurological impairment.

[An oneiroid experience during severe acute polyradiculoneuritis]. / Expérience d'un vécu oniroïde au cours des polyradiculonévrites aiguës graves.

This study is to present a psychopathological analysis of complex hallucinatory symptoms--without consciousness breaking up in confusional state--occurring in patients with acute Guillain-Barré's syndrome diagnosis requiring neurological intensive care. Finally the patients experience an unitary and closed situation "close to dream without being dream". This experience is corresponding to the semeiology of the "oneiroid experience" (Mayer-Gross, 1924). The "oneiroid experience" appears to be of syndromic nature independent of any etiological and/or nosological classification. But its conceptualization does probably need widening: the oneiroid world appears to be a creation of a primitive function which inserts us in the world before any science or verification.

Post-traumatic stress disorder as a sequela of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was observed in a 24 year-old female following severe Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). A review of the literature uncovered no previously mentioned examples of PTSD resulting from GBS or other medical illnesses. GBS-induced PTSD shared the features of PTSD seen following other traumatic events.

Intensive care of acute Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Guillain-Barré syndrome causes, in addition to paralysis and respiratory failure, many general medical problems that have great bearing on outcome. The main features of daily care that require attention are: respiratory and urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal dysfunction, hyponatremia, pain control, and the potential for pulmonary embolism. Dysautonomic problems that arise specifically in the intensive care unit include: hyper- and hypotension, cardiac arrhythmias, and ileus. Throughout the illness, certain psychological aberrations and communication problems must be addressed. The experience reviewed herein provides a practical approach to these problems.

Clinical signs of brain death simulated by Guillain-Barré syndrome.

A 58-year-old woman with relapsing acute Guillain-Barré syndrome separated by long asymptomatic intervals presented clinical symptoms resembling those of brain death. She remained in this situation for 15 days and recovered with amnesia for this period. The amnesia was not explained either by metabolic encephalopathy or by sedative drugs. This case stresses the importance of the precise etiologic diagnosis of severe brain disease and the isoelectric EEG in brain death.

Guillain-Barré syndrome: a case study.

This article presents a case study illustrating the usual course of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Rehabilitation nursing problems, interventions, and the outcome of a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome are described.

Guillain-Barré syndrome: giving the patient control.

The patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) presents a complex clinical picture. Depending on the degree of paralysis, problems with communication can be significant. The patient's inability to express fears, needs and frustrations coupled with the lengthy recovery process makes GBS one of the most difficult diseases for nurses to manage. Nursing interventions, based on Orem's self-care theory, can ease the frustration and feelings of powerlessness a patient with GBS experiences.