COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A fortuitous relationship?

Abstract

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mainly affects the respiratory system, multiple neurological manifestations have been described. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is one of those. Despite the limited existence of cases reporting the association between GBS and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the number of publications on this subject is increasing, thus making it relevant to compile and synthesize analytically all the nascent information. The objective of this article is to describe the association between COVID-19 and GBS. SARS-CoV-2 is neuroinvasive, neurotropic, and neurovirulent, which allows it to cause neurological damage, including GBS. There have been case reports of a possible association between COVID-19 and GBS in China, the United States of America, Iran, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and other countries. GBS is emerging as a possible neurological complication in patients with COVID-19. The current evidence does not prove the veracity of a relationship between COVID-19 and GBS, but it justifies its verisimilitude. Further studies on the topic will provide biomedical personnel with a more complete understanding of the performance of GBS in patients with COVID-19, as well as information regarding how to successfully treat it.