Summary of preselected outcomes evaluated from data of prospective analyses of adequately treated Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) patients with plasma exchange (PE) or intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) and pooled results
| Study | Design | Outcome 1 (ability to walk with aid at 4 weeks) | Outcome 2 (ability to walk unaided at 4 weeks) | Outcome 3 (need for ventilatory support at 4 weeks) | Outcome 4 (ability to walk unaided at 6 months) | Outcome 5 (relapse at 1 year) | Outcome 6 (recovery of full motor strength at 1 year) | Outcome 7 (ability to walk unaided at 1 year or later) | Outcome 8 (persistence of severe motor sequelae at 1 year or later) | Outcome 9 (need to change employment due to GBS) | Outcome10 (death within 1 year of diagnosis) |
| Greenwood et al, 198411 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled | NA | NA | 2/14 | NA | 1/14 | 4/14 | NA | 1/14 | NA | 2/14 |
| Osterman et al, 198412 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled | 12/18 | 7/18 | 4/18 | NA | 1/18 | 16/18 | NA | 1/18 | NA | 1/18 |
| The GBS Study Group, 198514 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled | NA | NA | 26/122 | 100/122 | 2/122 | NA | NA | 22/122 | NA | 3/122 |
| French Cooperative Group, 198715 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled | 13/109 | 15/109 | 12/109 | NA | 6/109 | 70/109 | NA | 11/109 | NA | 7/109 |
| Färkkilä et al, 198717 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 12/13 | NA | 0/13 | NA | 2/13 |
| Van der Meché Schmitz, 199218 | Therapeutic (PE vs IVIg), controlled | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 3/150 |
| French Cooperative Group, 199719 | Therapeutic (PE), controlled and ‘dose-ranging’ | 6/45‡ | 13/45‡ | 0/45** | NA | 14/361¶ | 210/361¶ | NA | 41/361¶ | NA | 14/361¶ |
| PE/Sandoglobulin Trial, 199720 | Therapeutic PE versus IVIg versus PE+IVIg | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 57/365* † | NA | 19/379 |
| van Koningsveld et al, 200421 | Therapeutic IVIg+PE versus IVIg+placebo | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 184/225§ | 41/225†† | NA | 10/225§ |
| Bernsen et al, 200224 | Therapeutic (PE vs IVIg), controlled | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 108/122 | 14/122 | 31/82 | NA |
| Total | 31/172 (18%) | 35/172 (20.3%) | 44/308 (14.3%) | 100/122 (82%) | 24/624 (3.8%) | 312/515 (60.6%) | 292/347 (84.1%) | 188/1349 (13.9%) | 31/82 (37.8%) | 61/1391 (4.4%) |
The values in bold correspond to the percentages for each outcome.
↵* Excluding missing data in each treated group.
↵† Considering 48-week instead of 52-week follow-up data.
↵‡ Only data for these outcomes were available for patients in the ‘mild’ group (obtained from the Cochrane review).
↵§ Including both treated groups which were equivalent and averaging.
↵¶ Including all patients in the effectively treated groups (ie, 46 in the two PE in the group for mild disease; the 155 treated by four PE in the moderate disease group; all 161 treated patients by four or six PE in the severe disease group).
↵** Included mild group.
↵†† Only including those unable to walk independently at 1 year.
NA, not applicable.