Guideline Video

Guideline Resources

  • Administration of Neuromuscular Blockade in Adults With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
  • Society of Critical Care Medicine
  • March 3, 2026
  • Summary
  • Full-text

Video Transcription

Just published March 3rd, 2026, the Society of Critical Care Medicine‘s newest guideline update on Administration of Neuromuscular Blockade in Adults With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

The purpose of this guideline was to develop evidence-based recommendations for the administration of neuromuscular blocking agents, or NMBAs in critically ill adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS.

In today’s rapid update, we'll just be going over the recommendations so for the full guideline, make sure to check it out on guidelinecentral.com

Let’s get started. 

  • The guideline suggests using NMBAs over not using NMBAs in adults with ARDS with PaO2/FiO2 < 150 who are persistently hypoxemic and/or not achieving mechanical ventilation targets on sedation
  • The guideline suggests using either a fixed-dose strategy without monitoring depth of neuromuscular blockade, or a titration-based strategy by monitoring depth of neuromuscular blockade for adults with ARDS
  • The guideline suggests using either a scale-based evaluation or nonscale-based evaluation for depth of analgesia and sedation before initiating NMBA for adult patients with ARDS
  • The guideline suggests using either a monitoring-based strategy or no monitoring of depth of analgesia and sedation in adults with ARDS who are receiving NMBAs
  • The guideline suggests either administering neuromuscular blockade or not administering neuromuscular blockade in adult patients who are proned for ARDS

And there you have it. Make sure to check out the full guideline from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and other related clinical decision support tools at guidelinecentral.com.

Sign up for alerts and stay informed on the latest published articles and guidelines.