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Pain in Guillain-Barré syndrome
D E Moulin1, N Hagen, T E Feasby
1Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada.
Objectives:
To determine the character, intensity and frequency of pain in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and to evaluate the response to treatment.
Design:
A prospective longitudinal study.
Setting:
Academic hospital-based practices.
Patients:
Fifty-five consecutive patients with GBS.
Interventions:
Patients were evaluated on admission and at 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
Character of pain, pain intensity using Visual Analogue Scale ([VAS] 0 to 10 cm) and Present Pain Intensity of McGill Pain Questionnaire, pain relief (VAS 0 to 10 cm), Disability Grading Scale for GBS.
Results:
Forty-nine patients (89.1%) described pain during the course of their illness. On admission, mean pain intensity (VAS) was 4.7 +/- 3.3. However, 26 patients (47.3%) described pain that was either distressing, horrible, or excruciating (mean VAS, 7.0 +/- 2.0). The most common pain syndromes observed were deep aching back and leg pain and dysesthetic extremity pain. Pain intensity on admission correlated poorly with neurologic disability on admission (r = 0.26, p = 0.06) and throughout the period of study (r < 0.20, p > 0.10). Forty-one patients (74.5%) required opioid analgesics, with 16 (29.0%) receiving parenteral morphine to provide adequate pain relief.
Conclusions:
Moderate to severe pain is a common and early symptom of GBS and requires aggressive treatment. Pain intensity on admission is not a predictor of poor prognosis. Back and leg pain usually resolves over the first 8 weeks, but dysesthetic extremity pain may persist longer in 5 to 10% of patients despite motor recovery and the use of adjuvant analgesics.