Neurology

Guillain-Barre syndrome, COVID-19, and vaccination: What are the associations?

October 25, 2023

The population-based study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased risk of GBS, whereas COVID-19 vaccination is associated with decreased risk.

• This Israeli nested-case control study included 3,193,951 patients ages ≥16 years, without a prior GBS diagnosis. Participants were followed from January 1, 2021, until June 30, 2022, for the occurrence of GBS. Each case of GBS was matched to 10 randomly selected controls based on age and sex. Researchers assessed both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination in the prior 6 weeks in cases and controls.
• A total of 76 patients were diagnosed with GBS during follow-up and were matched to 760 controls. A positive test for SARS-CoV-2 was documented in nine (11.8%) cases, and 18 (2.4%) controls. Administration of a COVID-19 vaccine was documented in eight (10.5%) cases (all Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine), and 136 (17.9%) controls (134 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine). Odds ratios for GBS associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 6.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.55-15.56), while for COVID-19 vaccine administration it was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.17-0.96).
• When exposures to SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination were ascertained in the prior 4 and 8 weeks, the results were similar; although they didn’t reach statistical significance for COVID-19 vaccine at 4 weeks.

Source:

Bishara H, et al. (2023, October 18). Neurology. Association Between Guillain-Barré Syndrome and COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination: A Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37852786/