An algorithm for train-of-four monitoring in patients receiving continuous neuromuscular blocking agents

Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) are increasingly being used in the management of critically ill patients. These medications are used to facilitate mechanical ventilation. Strange and colleagues estimated that only 4% of intensive care units utilize train-of-four (TOF) monitoring on a regular basis and that 70% never use this type of monitoring. The ease of use and low cost of the equipment lends itself to the increasingly frequent recommendations for this type of monitoring. Although unwilling to go so far as to establish this as a standard of care, the American College of Critical Care Medicine of the Society of Critical Care Medicine released an executive summary recommending train-of-four monitoring for patients receiving continuous or sustained NMBAs. This protocol and algorithm was developed to facilitate the objective monitoring of patients receiving continuous NMBAs.