Cardiopulmonary implications of neuromuscular blockade

Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are used to facilitate mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. Individual NMBAs differ in their metabolism and elimination, side effects, and duration of action. These differences help designate which NMBA has the greatest efficacy, given different scenarios. A common theme with all NMBAs is their ability to ablate spontaneous breathing; hence, vigilant cardiopulmonary monitoring is warranted when NMBAs are used.