Total | Acute ophthalmoparesis | MFS | MFS/GBS | GBS | BBE/GBS | BBE | Unclassified | |
Patients (n) | 194 | 15 | 110 | 31 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 7 |
Sex (men/women) | 106/88 | 6/9 | 66/44 | 16/15 | 4/4 | 5/6 | 5/7 | 4/3 |
Median age (range) | 37 (2–78) | 30 (9–69) | 41 (2–78) | 33 (6–76) | 36 (17–50) | 42 (24–76) | 37 (27–69) | 31 (18–66) |
Antecedent illness: | (%) | (%) | (%) | (%) | (%) | (%) | (%) | (%) |
Upper respiratory infection | 80 | 60 | 86 | 74 | 63 | 82 | 75 | 71 |
Diarrhoea | 14 | 27 | 10 | 19 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Initial symptoms: | ||||||||
Diplopia | 67 | 100 | 75 | 39 | 0 | 55 | 75 | 71 |
Gait disturbance | 29 | 0 | 32 | 42 | 75 | 18 | 33 | 43 |
Limb weakness | 12 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 100 | 9 | 0 | 14 |
Photophobia | 8 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Dysarthria | 7 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 14 |
Dysphagia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dysaesthesia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Blepharoptosis | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Consciousness disturbance | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
Neurological signs during the course of the illness: | ||||||||
Consciousness disturbance | ||||||||
Drowsiness | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 36 | 17 | 0 |
Stupor, semicoma, coma | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 33 | 0 |
Blepharoptosis | 45 | 40 | 51 | 42 | 0 | 36 | 17 | 29 |
External ophthalmoplegia | 91 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Internal ophthalmoplegia | 36 | 7 | 37 | 52 | 0 | 27 | 42 | 29 |
Nystagmus | 22 | 27 | 16 | 29 | 25 | 18 | 33 | 57 |
Facial weakness | 34 | 13 | 23 | 71 | 13 | 82 | 33 | 14 |
Bulbar palsy | 29 | 13 | 20 | 61 | 13 | 82 | 25 | 14 |
Limb weakness2-150 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 14 |
Tendon reflex | ||||||||
Brisk | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 33 | 0 |
Normal | 6 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
Decreased | 30 | 33 | 29 | 32 | 62 | 35 | 25 | 0 |
Absent | 60 | 20 | 71 | 68 | 38 | 56 | 42 | 0 |
Babinski's sign | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 67 | 0 |
Ataxia | 80 | 0 | 100 | 68 | 0 | 45 | 100 | 100 |
Deep sense impairment | 26 | 0 | 27 | 39 | 13 | 55 | 8 | 29 |
Superficial sense impairment | 35 | 20 | 36 | 42 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 29 |
CSF albuminocytological dissociation | 58 | 25 | 66 | 43 | 25 | 75 | 42 | 80 |
MFS= Miller Fisher syndrome; GBS=Guillain-Barré syndrome; BBE=Bickerstaff's brain stem encephalitis; MFS/GBS=overlapping Miller Fisher syndrome and Guillain-Barré syndrome; BBE/GBS=overlapping Bickerstaff's brain stem encephalitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
↵2-150 3 or less on the Medical Research Council scale