Guillain-barré syndrome: Learning to live with a residual disability

Abstract

Chronic diseases can forge many changes in the patient’s lifestyle, potentially stressful, such as giving up activities they used to enjoy or adapt to new physical limitations and special needs, which predisposes a person to experience anxiety, depression or other psychological condition. Such is the case of “Lola”, diagnosed in 2011 with Guillain-Barré syndrome. In this article, a description of the disease is performed and the case is analyzed under the vision of the nurse, in which a set of interventions are prioritized. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS acronym) is an acute inflammatory polyneuropathy that can be classified as the neural commitment. In most cases, patients present with respiratory or gastrointestinal infections before submitting such weakness, paralysis and areflexia with ascending progression, among other signs and related to the physiopathology of each of its five presentations. It is important to recognize that health care of the GBS requires an interdisciplinary team, with professionals able to provide support in various aspects, physiological and mental, altered, such as nutrition, respiration, body function.