[Primary polyradiculoneuritis (course, outcome, work capacity of the patients)]

Clinical manifestations and outcomes of primary polyradiculoneuritis were examined in 82 patients, in 60 of whom these examinations were conducted for up to 5 years. The acute period was characterized by motor, sensor, and vegetative-trophic disturbances with prevalent involvement of the distal (rather than proximal) parts of the extremities according to the peripheral type. The immediate and late outcomes depended on the gravity of the disease course: on dismissal from hospitals recovery was registered in 47% of the patients, while the rest still showed various manifestations of the disease. These manifestations impaired substantially the patients' working capacity: because of them 38% of the patients were invalidated. Three years later 32%, and 5 years later 17% of these patients still remained invalids.