TY - JOUR T1 - Neuromuscular Blocking Agents for ARDS: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis JF - Respiratory Care SP - 120 LP - 128 DO - 10.4187/respcare.07849 VL - 66 IS - 1 AU - Heather Torbic AU - Sudhir Krishnan AU - Mary Pat Harnegie AU - Abhijit Duggal Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/66/1/120.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND: Studies evaluating neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) in the management of ARDS have produced inconsistent results in terms of their effect on mortality. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate differences in mortality comparing subjects with ARDS who received NMBA to those who received placebo or usual care.METHODS: We searched Ovid, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials evaluating administration of NMBAs in subjects with ARDS.RESULTS: We included 6 studies (N = 1,558 subjects) from 1,814 abstracts identified by our search strategy. The use of early, continuous-infusion NMBAs reduces the risk of short-term (ie, 21–28-d) mortality (relative risk 0.71 [95% CI 0.52–0.98], P = .030, I2 = 60%) in subjects with ARDS but does not reduce the risk of long-term (ie, 90-d) mortality (relative risk 0.81 [95% CI 0.64–1.04], P = .10, I2 = 54%). NMBAs decreased the risk of barotrauma (relative risk 0.55 [95% CI 0.35–0.85], P = .008, I2 = 0%) and pneumothorax (relative risk 0.46 [95% CI 0.28–0.77], P = .003, I2 = 0%) compared to control.CONCLUSIONS: In subjects with ARDS, early use of NMBAs improves oxygenation, reduces the incidence of ventilator-induced lung injury, and decreases 21–28-d mortality, but it does not improve 90-d mortality. NMBAs should be considered for select patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS for short durations. ER -