What constitutes a 'good' recovery outcome in post-acute Guillain-Barré syndrome? Results of a nationwide survey of post-acute GBS sufferers in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Eighty percent of people with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) are said to achieve 'good' outcome. 'Good' outcome has been defined as either of the top two scores (0 = Healthy, 1 = minor symptoms or signs, able to run) on a 7-point ordinal scale called the F-score. This assessment of 'good' outcome appears to be an arbitrary benchmark. This study is the first assessment of the differences in outcome between post-acute GBS sufferers reporting these scores. It attempts to compare the physical and emotional differences between respondents reporting '0' and '1' on the F-Score.

METHODS: A postal survey was administered to respondents through the UK Guillain-Barré Syndrome Support Group's national database and included items relating to general patient data, general mobility, F-Score, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, SF 36 and Fatigue Severity Scale.

RESULTS: One thousand five hundred and thirty-five members were surveyed, and of 884/1535 (58%) questionnaires were returned. Results indicate significant differences between those scoring '0' on the F-Score and those scoring '1' in the post-acute phase in terms of anxiety, depression, physical functioning, fatigue and wheelchair use on discharge.

CONCLUSIONS: Significantly poorer outcomes for those scoring '1' on the F-Score suggest that only those scoring '0' should constitute a 'good' outcome in GBS.