title: Guillain-Barré syndrome after influenza vaccination in the United States, a report from the CDC/FDA vaccine adverse event reporting system (1990-2009).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the rate of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after administration of influenza vaccine in the United States and to provide further information about the characteristics and temporal profile of these incidents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were acquired from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, supplemented by data from the Center for Biologics and Research under the Freedom of Information Act between 1990 and 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 802 cases (mean age, 54.72 ± 18.4 years) of GBS reported after influenza vaccination in the United States between 1990 and 2009. Among the 802 vaccinated patients with available data, 624 (77.8%) developed GBS within 6 weeks and 78 (9.7%) after 6 weeks, whereas these data were unavailable for the remaining 100 patients (13%). The reporting rate of post-influenza vaccine GBS was within the range expected in the general population or approximately 0.46 cases per million vaccinations. A non-Gaussian distribution of GBS within the first 6 weeks post-vaccination was noted, given that the peak incidence occurred in the second week.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of post-influenza vaccine GBS is similar to the incidence of idiopathic GBS in the general population. Although the nonnormal distribution of post-vaccination GBS suggests that some cases may be triggered by vaccination, the greater risk of complications from influenza virus infections makes vaccination the first-line strategy for infection prevention and support the current guidelines on vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, USA. souayani@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Nizar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Souayah
authors.forename: Hussam A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.forename: Hafiz M R
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Khosro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Farhad
authors.forename: Lubna Shafiq
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Mehyar
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maybodi
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Menkes
authors.forename: Adnan I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Qureshi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D005260:Female; D020275:Guillain-Barre Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines