InspireGBs - Inspiratory muscle training in people with Guillain-Barré syndrome: A feasibility study

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare immune-mediated peripheral nerve disease often preceded by infections. Respiratory muscle weakness is a common complication in this population, leading to decreased vital capacity, weakened coughing ability, atelectasis, and pulmonary infections. Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been widely used to enhance inspiratory muscle strength and pulmonary function in various diseases; however, its application in GBS is unknown.

To assess the safety, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of an IMT protocol-InspireGBs-in people with GBS.

A pre/post feasibility study was conducted. Feasibility was determined by participant recruitment/retention, adherence, time spent in each session, and adverse events. Secondary outcome was inspiratory muscle strength. InspireGBs consisted of twice daily sessions 5 times/week, three sets of 10 breaths in each session, for 6 weeks. Initial resistance was set at 50% of participant's baseline maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and with a weekly increase of 10% calculated from the previous week's training intensity, if tolerated, otherwise the increase was 5%.

Eleven patients (63% male; 63 ± 9 years) were recruited from inpatient rehabilitation and 10 completed the study. Recruitment and retention rates were high (79% and 91%, respectively). Excellent adherence rate (96%) was obtained with no reported adverse effects or safety issues. Sessions lasted from 4 to 6 minutes. The MIP improved (pretraining: 39 [26.5-50] cm H₂O vs. posttraining: 61 [56.3-64.5] cm H₂O, p = .005 and pretraining: 38 [30.5-53.8] % of predicted vs. posttraining: 60 [54.28-71.58] % of predicted, p = .009) with the InspireGBs.

InspireGBs is safe, feasible, and may be effective in improving inspiratory muscle strength in individuals with GBS. A randomized controlled trial is now needed to strengthen these findings.