Can we assess severity of Guillain-Barré syndrome using absolute monocyte count?

Introduction: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disease, associated with blood-nerve barrier breakdown, inflammatory cells infiltration, and cytokine leakage in the peripheral nervous system. Currently, it has been revealed that monocytes play key roles in the inflammatory response. Therefore, we aimed to assess the correlation between monocyte count and GBS in this study.

Methods: Retrospective study was conducted in 114 patients with GBS and 120 age- and gender-matched individuals.

Results: Absolute monocyte count in patients with GBS was higher than that in healthy controls (0.61 ± 0.24 vs 0.41 ± 0.10; P < .001). Interestingly, monocyte count had significant positive correlations with CRP, ESR, and disease severity of GBS (r = .244, P = .009; r = .269, P = .004; r = .322, P < .001). A cutoff value of 0.515 for monocyte count was observed in patients with GBS (areas under the curve = 0.808, 95% confidence interval = 0.749-0.868, P < .001). Meanwhile, absolute monocyte count was independently associated with GBS in logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 2.291, 95% confidence interval = 3.557-27.493, P < .001).

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that elevated monocyte count is independently associated with GBS patients, and suggested monocyte count is positively associated with disease severity of GBS.