Real-world hospitalization and readmission trajectory after Guillain-Barré syndrome in the United States
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- 2Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, St. Josef Hospital Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- 3Department of Neurology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
- 4Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- 5College of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- 6Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA USA
- 7Digital Engineering Faculty, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Abstract
Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy associated with substantial morbidity, but contemporary data on post-discharge readmission remain limited. We characterized 90-day readmission timing, causes, associated factors, and procedure coding after GBS.
Methods: We analyzed an unweighted cohort of adults with a principal diagnosis of GBS in the 2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. The primary outcome was all-cause readmission within 90 days after discharge. Readmission causes were classified using principal readmission diagnoses mapped to Clinical Classifications Software Refined categories, and procedure coding was descriptively assessed using ICD-10 procedure codes and procedure-day variables. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with readmission.
Results: Among 2,587 adults eligible for 90-day follow-up, 364 (14.1%) were readmitted. Readmissions clustered early, with 170 (46.7%) occurring within 15 days and 241 (66.2%) within 30 days. Separately, GBS was the principal diagnosis in 170 of 364 readmissions (46.7%), representing the largest grouped cause followed by septicemia (9.6%) and cardiovascular or thromboembolic conditions (6.9%). In adjusted analyses, discharge disposition was the most consistent marker of readmission risk: compared with routine home discharge, facility discharge was associated with higher odds of 90-day readmission (odds ratio 1.70, 95% confidence interval 1.27–2.28). Procedure-code timing suggested that diagnostic evaluation and immunotherapy were administered early, whereas plasma exchange, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, and rehabilitation-related procedures were performed at later stages.
Conclusions: Readmission after GBS is frequent, early, and clinically heterogeneous, supporting its interpretation as a marker of residual neurological disability, systemic complications, and care-transition vulnerability rather than recurrent GBS alone.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9.
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BibTeX
@article{voth2026realworld,
title = {{Real-world hospitalization and readmission trajectory after Guillain-Barré syndrome in the United States}},
author = {Jan Voth and Julius Gerstmeyer and Sven G. Meuth and Gerd Meyer zu Hörste and Alice Grizzel Willison and Franz Felix Konen and Hugh John Willison and Thomas Skripuletz and Michael Gliem and Marc Pawlitzki and Jens Chapman and Lars Masanneck},
journal = {BMC Neurology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Real-world hospitalization and readmission trajectory after Guillain-Barré syndrome in the United States
AU - Jan Voth
AU - Julius Gerstmeyer
AU - Sven G. Meuth
AU - Gerd Meyer zu Hörste
AU - Alice Grizzel Willison
AU - Franz Felix Konen
AU - Hugh John Willison
AU - Thomas Skripuletz
AU - Michael Gliem
AU - Marc Pawlitzki
AU - Jens Chapman
AU - Lars Masanneck
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - BMC Neurology
DO - 10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9
AB - Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy associated with substantial morbidity, but contemporary data on post-discharge readmission remain limited. We characterized 90-day readmission timing, causes, associated factors, and procedure coding after GBS. Methods: We analyzed an unweighted cohort of adults with a principal diagnosis of GBS in the 2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. The primary outcome was all-cause readmission within 90 days after discharge. Readmission causes were classified using principal readmission diagnoses mapped to Clinical Classifications Software Refined categories, and procedure coding was descriptively assessed using ICD-10 procedure codes and procedure-day variables. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with readmission. Results: Among 2,587 adults eligible for 90-day follow-up, 364 (14.1%) were readmitted. Readmissions clustered early, with 170 (46.7%) occurring within 15 days and 241 (66.2%) within 30 days. Separately, GBS was the principal diagnosis in 170 of 364 readmissions (46.7%), representing the largest grouped cause followed by septicemia (9.6%) and cardiovascular or thromboembolic conditions (6.9%). In adjusted analyses, discharge disposition was the most consistent marker of readmission risk: compared with routine home discharge, facility discharge was associated with higher odds of 90-day readmission (odds ratio 1.70, 95% confidence interval 1.27–2.28). Procedure-code timing suggested that diagnostic evaluation and immunotherapy were administered early, whereas plasma exchange, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, and rehabilitation-related procedures were performed at later stages. Conclusions: Readmission after GBS is frequent, early, and clinically heterogeneous, supporting its interpretation as a marker of residual neurological disability, systemic complications, and care-transition vulnerability rather than recurrent GBS alone. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-026-05499-9.
SN - 1471-2377
ER -