Fatal Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Fourteen of 320 patients (4%) admitted with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) died as a direct result of the illness. Deaths most commonly resulted from ventilator-associated pneumonia. In comparison with 101 other patients with severe GBS admitted to the intensive care unit, the patients who died were older (p = 0.006) and more likely to have underlying pulmonary disease (p = 0.004). In a specialized center, the primary event leading to death in GBS was ventilator-associated pulmonary infection, predominantly in elderly patients with significant comorbidity.