Incidence of Guillain-Barre's Syndrome in Children under 15 Years of Age in Oman

Objective Guillain-Barre's syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy seen in all ages but mostly in the adult population. We aim to report the incidence of GBS in children under 15 years of age in Oman, a Gulf country. Materials and Methods All children with GBS under 15 years of age were included in the study from January 2002 to December 2016. The data were compiled in Microsoft Excel format and analysis was performed using SPSS, version 17.0. Population-based age- and sex-specific rates of GBS were calculated using the estimated population for each 5-year period based on 2004, 2009, and 2014 mid-year population, respectively. Relative risk and 95% confidence intervals of GBS at different age categories were calculated using the overall incidence of GBS in those under 15 years as reference. Results The average annual incidence in those under 15 years was 3.1/100,000. Age-specific incidence was 4.0/100,000 in the age group 0 to 9 years and 4.7/100,000 in age group 0 to 4 years. Sixty percent had evidence of preceding infections, and the male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Fifty percent had cranial nerve involvement and 18% needed mechanical ventilation. Five percent had residual weakness. Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) were used in all, and 3.3% required plasmapheresis when they did not improve with IVIG. Clinical profile of the GBS was not different from the rest reported in the literature. Conclusion The incidence of GBS in Oman was 3.1/100,000 (range: 2.7-3.5 cases/100,000) in children under 15 years of age. The GBS is a smaller proportion among the total acute flaccid paralysis cases.