title: Acute generalized weakness in patients referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital from 2005 to 2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diseases that cause acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) often progress rapidly, thus may cause life threatening complications, therefore, their diagnosis and cure are important. This study was carried out to investigate the causes of acute generalized weakness in children referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital, in Babol, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this case series, the epidemiological causes of the disease and clinical features of 15 cases with acute generalized weakness from April 2005 to September 2010 were evaluated. The data were collected and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of cases was 4.7±3.5 years. The male/female ratio was 2. Twenty cases had Guillain-Barre syndrome, two with myositis and one with periodic hyperkalemic paralysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Guillain-Barre syndrome is the most common cause of AFP in children admitted due to acute generalized weakness in Amirkola Children's Hospital.
authors.affiliation: Non- Communicable Pediatric Diseases Research Center, Amirkola Children's Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Salehiomran
authors.affiliation: Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naserkhaki
authors.affiliation: Non- Communicable Pediatric Diseases Research Center, Amirkola Children's Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajiahmadi
keywords: Guillain-Barre syndrome; Paralysis acute disease; Weakness