Sevoflurane Sedation in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by hypoxemic respiratory failure and inflammatory injury to the lungs, and occurs in 10% of all intensive care unit admissions. ARDS accounts for nearly a quarter of all patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation and is associated with hospital mortality approaching 30% to 40%. There are multiple large randomized trials on how to ventilate the patient with ARDS, when to prone the patient, and whether there is a role for adjunct therapy such as corticosteroids or neuromuscular blockade. There are few published data, however, on the optimal sedation strategy for patients with ARDS.