Phrenic nerve conduction time in Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Phrenic nerve conduction was studied in 28 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Conduction time was prolonged in 18 (64.3%) patients and serial studies showed progressive improvement with restoration of normal values in the majority by 12 weeks. The conduction abnormalities had a positive correlation with the extent of the disease, morbidity and mortality. Phrenic nerve conduction time was found to be a more sensitive parameter than vital capacity or median nerve motor conduction velocity in assessing the severity of the disease and predicting impending ventilatory failure.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011129:Polyradiculoneuropathy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000503:physiopathology