GBS cases increased amid Covid, says doc

Nagpur: Two back-to-back cases of successful treatment of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) are sure to bring hope to patients as the doctors claim though rare, incidence of this type of neurological disorder has increased amid Covid pandemic.
Recently, a 19-year-old girl, suffering from GBS and on ventilator support for 75 days, was saved at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur. Similarly, a 14-year-old boy was successfully treated after nearly a month on ventilator at Wockhardt Hospital.

The boy, his parents, and treating doctor — virtuoso clinical neurologist at Wockhardt Hospital Dr Amit Bhatti — interacted with the media on Tuesday.
Dr Bhatti said GBS cases have increased during and after Covid. “GBS is a rare neurological disorder. In this, immune system of our body mistakenly attacks the network of nerves located outside the brain and spinal cord. When a new type of virus enters body, the immune system gets confused and starts attacking nerves. As Covid was a new virus, the GBS incidence increased,” Dr Bhatti said. Only a few GBS patients show severe manifestation, he said.
“Many suffer from this condition but recover from the sensory loss in a while. Many do not realize it was GBS. Only nerve conduction study can properly diagnose this,” said Dr Bhatti.
For 14-year-old Pranav, GBS started with weakness and tingling in feet and legs. It spread to upper body and he got nearly paralysed. Parents shifted him to Wockhardt Hospital very next day.
“We have treated at least eight cases of GBS during Covid at Nagpur centre of Wockhardt. This number is unusually high as this condition is very rare. But, cases have increased for sure during and after Covid. We conducted a nerve conduction study on Pranav and started treatment,” said Dr Bhatti.
As Pranav’s natural defence system of the body was producing harmful antibodies, these were attacking his own nerves. Healthy antibodies from donated blood were given to him for a longer period. He was on ventilator for about 30 days between March and April. Gradually, he started recovering.
“As per our observation, if GBS turns serious, it continues to increase for the first 8-10 days despite medication. The disease remains at a plateau for the next 8-10 days and then recovery begins. Complete recovery is possible after physiotherapy and rehabilitation therapy,” said Dr Bhatti.