Long term intubation and successful weaning in two children with Guillain-Barre syndrome

No definite criteria exists in Guillian-Barre syndrome in children regarding prolonged ventilation through an endo-tracheal tube without tracheostomy and successful weaning using a T-piece. Here we report two such cases of Guillian-Barre syndrome requiring prolonged intubation for 56 days and ventilation for 30 days and ultimately successfully weaning them using the T-piece. Both the children eventually made a complete recovery, highlighting the point that in children prolonged intubation and ventilation using the portex tube is equally good, if not, better than tracheostomy with its attendant risks.