Acute paralytic poliomyelitis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) may show several clinical features in common. A number of findings may be helpful in distinguishing the two conditions.
Parameters:
(1) sensory loss
(2) CSF pleocytosis
(3) CSF protein concentration
(4) MRI changes in and around the spinal cord
(5) evidence of poliovirus (serologic change, isolation of virus)
Parameter
Poliomyelitis
Guillain-Barre
sensory loss
absent
present
CSF pleocytosis
present
absent
CSF protein
minimal increase
moderate to marked increase
MRI changes
discrete T2-weight signal changes in ventral horns of the spinal cord
nerve root enhancement
evidence of poliovirus
present
absent
where:
• The motor axon variant of GBS is the clinical type that most closely resembles acute paralytic poliomyelitis.
