| FS/GBS | GBS | FS | Two-tailed p value | |||||
| Total | Ventilated | Unventilated | FS/GBS vs GBS | FS/GBS vs FS | Ventilated vs unventilated FS/GBS | |||
| No of patients | 45 | 11 | 34 | 100 | 100 | |||
| Sex (male/female) | 29/16 | 8/3 | 21/13 | 55/45 | 54/46 | NS | NS | NS |
| Age (years): median (range) | 46 (6 to 73) | 46 (19 to 68) | 45 (6 to 73) | 52 (4 to 92) | 43 (8 to 85) | NS | NS | NS |
| Antecedent illness: n (%) | ||||||||
| Upper-respiratory infectious symptoms | 29 (64%) | 7 (64%) | 22 (65%) | 52 (52%) | 55 (55%) | NS | NS | NS |
| Diarrhoea | 7 (16%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (21%) | 38 (38%) | 24 (24%) | 0.01 | NS | NS |
| Initial symptom: n (%) | ||||||||
| Diplopia | 20 (44%) | 5 (45%) | 15 (44%) | 1 (1%) | 65 (65%) | <0.001 | 0.03 | NS |
| Titubation | 12 (27%) | 6 (55%) | 6 (18%) | 0 (0%) | 34 (34%) | <0.001 | NS | 0.04 |
| Dysphagia | 2 (4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (6%) | 2 (2%) | 0 (0%) | NS | NS | NS |
| Nasal voice | 2 (4%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (6%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | NS | NS | NS |
| Leg weakness | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 41 (41%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 | NS | NS |
| Neurological signs during illness: n (%) | ||||||||
| External ophthalmoplegia | 45 (100%) | 11 (100%) | 34 (100%) | 8 (8%) | 100 (100%) | <0.001 | NS | NS |
| Internal ophthalmoplegia | 10 (22%) | 3 (27%) | 7 (21%) | 1 (1%) | 31 (31%) | <0.001 | NS | NS |
| Facial weakness | 4 (9%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (12%) | 38 (38%) | 19 (19%) | <0.001 | NS | NS |
| Oropharyngeal palsy | 19 (42%) | 5 (45%) | 14 (41%) | 33 (33%) | 10 (10%) | NS | <0.001 | NS |
| Neck weakness | 27 (60%) | 9 (82%) | 18 (53%) | 51 (51%) | 13 (13%) | NS | <0.001 | NS |
| Limb weakness | ||||||||
| Ascending tetraparesis | 31 (69%) | 4 (36%) | 27 (79%) | 94 (94%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.02 |
| Descending tetraparesis | 14 (31%) | 7 (64%) | 7 (21%) | 6 (6%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.02 |
| Ataxia | 45 (100%) | 11 (100%) | 34 (100%) | 4 (4%) | 100 (100%) | <0.001 | NS | NS |
| Superficial sense impairment | 23 (51%) | 4 (36%) | 19 (56%) | 28 (28%) | 6 (6%) | 0.01 | <0.001 | NS |
| Deep sense impairment | 18 (40%) | 5 (45%) | 13 (38%) | 18 (18%) | 12 (12%) | 0.009 | <0.001 | NS |
| Artificial ventilation: n (%) | 11 (24%) | 10 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 0.04 | <0.001 | |||
| Median days to artificial ventilation (range) | 2 (1 to 6) | 6 (1 to 25) | 0.03 | |||||
| Median days to admission (range) | 2 (0 to 13) | 2 (0 to 10) | 2 (0 to 13) | 3 (0 to 17) | 3 (0 to 18) | NS | 0.04 | 0.008 |
NS, not significant (p>0.05)