Sequential treatment of Guillain-Barre syndrome with extracorporeal elimination and intravenous immunoglobulin

Plasma exchange (PE) and administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IgG) are established treatments for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Elimination of postulated pathogenetic factors by plasma exchange or similar methods, such as selective adsorption (SA) treatment using affinity-type adsorption columns and subsequent immunomodulation by intravenous IgG, may provide a more effective treatment. Forty-five patients with acute GBS were prospectively examined using a clinical score. We treated ii patients by plasma exchange, 13 with selective adsorption using a tryptophan-linked polyvinyl alcohol gel adsorbent, and a group of 21 patients by selective adsorption followed by intravenous IgG. The patients treated sequentially by selective adsorption and intravenous IgG improved significantly better than the patients who received plasma treatment only. This pilot study suggests that sequential treatment of GBS may be superior to plasma treatment alone. The higher cost of this combined treatment might be offset by shorter hospital stays and lower overall expenditure. The preliminary results warrant further investigation in a multicenter trial.