Neuroepidemiology. 2012 Apr 27;38(4):227-232.

[Epub ahead of print]

Guillain-Barr Syndrome after H1N1 Vaccination in the United States: A Report Using the CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (2009).
Souayah N, Yacoub HA, Khan HM, Michas-Martin PA, Menkes DL, Maybodi L, Qureshi AI. Source Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, N.J., USA. Abstract

Background: Although the Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS) can be associated with the seasonal influenza
vaccine, there is no definite evidence that GBS is associated with H1N1 influenza vaccination. The objective of this report is to study the occurrence and characteristics of GBS after H1N1 vaccine administration in the United States in 2009.

Methods: Data were acquired from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and supplemented by Results: A total of 62 individuals (mean age 46.51 22.41 years), 33 of whom were men,

additional information obtained from the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, under the Federal Freedom of Information Act.

developed GBS associated with the H1N1 influenza vaccination in 2009. Sixty GBS cases were reported within 6 weeks after vaccination, with 31 cases (50.0%) reported in the first 2 weeks. The estimated rate of occurrence of GBS was 6.2 cases per 10 million vaccinations, which is comparable to the rate of GBS in the general population.

Conclusion: The higher rate of GBS reports in the first 6 weeks after H1N1 vaccination suggests that some GBS
cases may be triggered by H1N1 vaccination. This warrants early recognition, treatment, and active surveillance in the postvaccination setting. Copyright 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Eur J Neurol. 2012 Apr 23. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2012.03730.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Increased incidence of Guillain-Barr syndrome after surgery.

Gensicke H, Datta AN, Dill P, Schindler C, Fischer D.

Source
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Antecedent surgery has been described to trigger Guillain/x96Barr syndrome (GBS), but its evidence is poor and based on case reports only.
METHODS:

We performed a retrospective analysis of 63 patients with GBS admitted to the University Hospital Basel and University Children's Hospital Basel from January 2005 to December 2010. We calculated and compared the incidences of post-surgical and non-exposed patients with GBS in the study population and those reported previously in literature.
RESULTS:

Six of 63 (9.5%) GBS cases had had a surgery within 6 weeks prior to GBS. The relative risk of developing GBS during the 6-week period after surgery is 13.1 times higher than the normal incidence in the study population (95% confidence interval: 5.68, 30.3; P 0.0001), suggesting an attributable risk of 4.1 cases per 100 000 surgeries. In addition, the incidence of post-surgical GBS is significantly higher than influenza vaccine-associated GBS in the study population (P = 0.01) as well as in comparison with previous reported vaccine-associated GBS (P 0.0001) and background incidences (P 0.0001).
CONCLUSION:

Surgery must be considered to be a potential risk factor for developing GBS. 2012 The Author(s) European Journal of Neurology 2012 EFNS.