The most common treatments for treating Guillain-Barré syndrome include the use of intravenous immunoglobulins or therapeutic plasmapheresis sessions that, while not curing the disease, help relieve symptoms and accelerate healing.
These treatments are usually initiated in intensive care units when the patient is hospitalized and aim to reduce the amount of antibodies in the blood, preventing them from causing nerve damage and worsening the degree of disease development.
- Both types of treatment have the same efficacy for relieving symptoms and recovering the patient.
- However.
- The use of immunoglobulins is easier to achieve and has fewer side effects than therapeutic plasmapheresis.
- Whenever there is a suspicion of this syndrome.
- It is recommended to consult a neurologist to confirm the diagnosis.
- And then there may be a reference to other specialties.
Plasmapheresis is a type of treatment that involves filtering the blood to remove excess substances that may be the cause of the disease. In the case of Guillain-Barré syndrome, plasmapheresis is performed to remove excess antibodies that act against the peripheral nervous system and cause symptoms of the disease.
The filtered blood then returns to the body, which is stimulated to produce healthy antibodies, thus relieving symptoms of the disease. Understand how plasmapheresis is performed.
Immunoglobulin therapy involves injecting healthy antibodies into the vein that act against the antibodies that cause the disease. Thus, treatment with immunoglobulins becomes effective because it promotes the destruction of antibodies that act against the nervous system, relieving symptoms.
Physical therapy is important in Guillain-Barré syndrome because it promotes the recovery of muscle and respiratory functions, improving the quality of life of the person. It is important that physical therapy is maintained for long periods of time until the patient regains its maximum capacity.
Tracking a physical therapist with daily exercises with the patient is necessary to stimulate joint movement, improve joint range, maintain muscle strength and prevent respiratory and circulatory complications. Since then, for most patients, the main goal is to walk again alone.
When the patient enters the ICU, it can be connected to a respiratory system and in this case the physical therapist is also important to ensure the necessary oxygenation, but after hospital discharge physiotherapeutic treatment can be maintained for 1 year or more, depending on the patient’s evolution.
Treatment should continue until your doctor says otherwise, but there may be treatment-related complications that need to be reported to your doctor.
For example, in treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, some of the common complications are headache, muscle aches, chills, fever, nausea, tremors, excessive fatigue and vomiting. The most serious, but difficult to produce, complications are kidney failure, myocardial infarction and clot formation.
For plasmapheresis, there may be a decrease in blood pressure, a change in heart rate, fever, dizziness, an increased risk of infections, and a decrease in calcium levels. Some of the most serious complications include bleeding, widespread infection, clot formation and air buildup in the pulmonary membranes; however, these complications are harder to produce.
These complications are usually treated with the use of medications, pain relievers and antiemetics to relieve fever and vomiting, for example, and it is important to inform your doctor of the symptoms experienced.
Signs of improvement in Guillain-Barré syndrome begin to appear approximately 3 weeks after starting treatment, however, most patients do not regain control of their movements until after 6 months.
Signs of worsening Guillain-Barré syndrome occur approximately 2 weeks after the onset of the first symptoms of the disease and include, for example, shortness of breath, sudden changes in blood pressure and incontinence, and occur when treatment is not done correctly. Right.