Ventilator dependence in acute severe asthma due to a variant presentation of Guillain-Barré syndrome

A 23-year-old white woman presented with severe status asthmaticus requiring prolonged ventilator support and subsequently developed a flaccid areflexic quadraparesis which resolved after plasmapheresis. This case represents a variant presentation of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) that is difficult to distinguish from critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP).