Respiratory Guidelines

• An Update on Management of Adult Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2024;209(1):24–36
• American Association for the Surgery of Trauma/American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Clinical Protocol for Management of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Severe Hypoxemia. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2023;epublished June 12th
• Tasaka. (Japanese) ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021. J Intensive Care 2022;10:32
• Grasselli. ESICM guidelines on acute respiratory distress syndrome: definition, phenotyping and respiratory support strategies. Intensive Care Med 2023;epublished June 16th
• Griffiths. (UK) Guidelines on the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome.BMJ Open Respiratory Research 2019;6:e000420
  
• Papazian. (French) Formal guidelines: management of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Ann Intensive Care 2019;9:69
• Cho. (Korean) Clinical Practice Guideline of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Tuberc Respir Dis 2016;79(4):214-233
• Claesson. Scandinavian clinical practice guideline on fluid and drug therapy in adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica 2016;epublished March 16th

see also Invasive Ventilation section

• Matthay. A New Global Definition of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2024;209(1):37-47
• Riviello. Hospital incidence and outcomes of the acute respiratory distress syndrome using the Kigali modification of the Berlin definition. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2016;193:52-59
• Ranieri. ARDS Definition Task Force. Acute respiratory distress syndrome: the Berlin Definition. JAMA 2012;307:2526-2533
• Ferguson. Development of a clinical definition for acute respiratory distress syndrome using the Delphi technique. J Crit Care 2005;20(2):147-54
• Bernard. The American-European Consensus Conference on ARDS. Definitions, mechanisms, relevant outcomes, and clinical trial coordination. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1994;149:818-824
• Murray. An expanded definition of the adult respiratory distress syndrome. Am Rev Respir Dis 1988;138:720-723
• Ashbaugh. Acute respiratory distress in adults. Lancet 1967;2:319-323

• Noninvasive respiratory support in the hypoxaemic peri-operative/periprocedural patient: a joint ESA/ESICM guideline. Intensive Care Med 2020;46(4):697-713

• Davidson. BTS/ICS guideline for the ventilatory management of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure in adults. Thorax 2016;71:ii1-ii35

• Wang. Expert Consensus on Acute Respiratory Failure in Critically Ill Cancer Patients (2023). Chin Med Sci J 2023;epublished September 21st

• Respiratory Management of Patients with Neuromuscular Weakness: An American College of Chest Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline and Expert Panel Report. Chest 2023;epublished March 5th 

• Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Treatment and Prevention of Drowning: 2024 Update. Wilderness Environ Med 2024;35(1_suppl):94S-111S

• Demoule. Dyspnoea in acutely ill mechanically ventilated adult patients: an ERS/ESICM statement. Intensive Care Med 2024;epublished February 22nd

• Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Position Statement on Acute Oxygen Use in Adults: 'Swimming between the flags'. Respirology 2022;27(4):262-276
• German S3 Guideline: Oxygen Therapy in the Acute Care of Adult Patients. Respiration 2021;epublished December 21st
• O'Driscoll. BTS guideline for oxygen use in adults in healthcare and emergency settings. Thorax 2017; 72:ii1-ii90

• ERS clinical practice guidelines: high-flow nasal cannula in acute respiratory failure. Eur Respir J 2022;59(4):2101574
• Appropriate Use of High-Flow Nasal Oxygen in Hospitalized Patients for Initial or Postextubation Management of Acute Respiratory Failure: A Clinical Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med 2021;epublished April 27th

• Noninvasive respiratory support in the hypoxaemic peri-operative/periprocedural patient: a joint ESA/ESICM guideline. Intensive Care Med 2020;epublished March 10th
• Official ERS/ATS clinical practice guidelines: noninvasive ventilation for acute respiratory failure. Eur Respir J 2017;50:1602426

• Brazilian medical societies. Joint statement on evidence-based practices in mechanical ventilation: suggestions from two Brazilian medical societies. Crit Care Sci 2025;37:e20250242en
• Ha. Liberation from mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients: Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines. Acute Crit Care 2024;39(1):1-23
• Symptom Assessment for Mechanically Ventilated Patients: Principles and Priorities: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2023;20(4):491–498
• Fichtner. Mechanical Ventilation and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Acute Respiratory Insufficiency. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2018;115(50):840-7
• An Official ATS/ESICM/SCCM Clinical Practice Guideline: Mechanical Ventilation in Adult Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017;195(9):1253–1263
• An ATS/AACP clinical practice guideline: liberation from mechanical ventilation in critically ill adults. rehabilitation protocols, ventilator liberation protocols, and cuff leak tests. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017;195(1):120-133

see also ARDS section

• Alhazzani. Neuromuscular blockade in patients with ARDS: a rapid practice guideline. Intensive Care Med 2020;epublished October 26th

• Combes. ECCO2R therapy in the ICU: consensus of a European round table meeting. Critical Care 2020;24:490

• Pavlov. Awake prone positioning in acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure: An international expert guidance. J Crit Care 2023;epublished August 26th

General

• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19: Updated 2021 Guidelines from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. ASAIO J 2021;67(5):485-495

Monitoring

• Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Ultrasound Guidance for Extra-corporeal Membrane Oxygenation General Guidelines, 2019
  

Transport

• Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Guideline for Transport and Retrieval of Adult and Pediatric Patients with ECMO Support, 2022
  

Nursing

• Recommendations From the Professional Advisory Committee on Nursing Practice in the Care of ECMO–Supported Patients. Crit Care Nurse 2021;41(3):e1–e8

COVID-19

• Rabie. Expert consensus statement on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ECMO for COVID-19 severe ARDS: an international Delphi study. Ann Intensive Care 2023;13:36

Rehabilitation

• Extracorporeal Life Support Organization 2024 Guideline for Early Rehabilitation or Mobilization of Adult Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. ASAIO J 2025;71(3):187-199

• 2024 Focused Update: Guidelines on Use of Corticosteroids in Sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Crit Care Med 2024;52:e219-e233

• Graham. Reducing global inequities in medical oxygen access: the Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security. Lancet Glob Health 2025;epublished February 3rd
• • Commentary: Baker. Realising the benefits of oxygen through essential emergency and critical care. Lancet Glob Health 2025;epublished February 3rd

• Management of severe asthma exacerbation: guidelines from the Société Française de Médecine d’Urgence, the Société de Réanimation de Langue Française and the French Group for Pediatric Intensive Care and Emergencies. Annals of Intensive Care 2019 9:115
• BTS/SIGN Guideline for the management of asthma 2019.
• ERS/EAACI statement on severe exacerbations in asthma in adults: facts, priorities and key research questions. Eur Respir J 2019;54:1900900

• Celli. Differential Diagnosis of Suspected Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations in the Acute Care Setting: Best Practice. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2023;207(9):134–1144
• Halpin. Global Initiative for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. The 2020 GOLD Science Committee Report on COVID-19 and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2021;203(1):24–36
• Management of COPD exacerbations: a European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guideline. Eur Respir J 2017;49:1600791
• Gupta et al for the COPD Guidelines Working Group. Guidelines for diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Joint ICS/NCCP (I) recommendations. Lung India 2013;30:228-67  

• Update of guidelines for management of community acquired pneumonia in adults by the French infectious disease society (SPILF) and the French-speaking society of respiratory diseases (SPLF). Endorsed by the French intensive care society (SRLF), the French microbiology society (SFM), the French radiology society (SFR) and the French emergency society (SFMU). Infect Dis Now 2025;epublished February 25th
• ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of severe community-acquired pneumonia. Intensive Care Med 2023;epublished April 4th
• Ramirez. Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Immunocompromised Adults. A Consensus Statement Regarding Initial Strategies. Chest 2020;158(5):1896-1911A Consensus Statement Regarding Initial Strategies. Chest 2020;158(5):1896-1911

• Infection Study Group of Chinese Thoracic Society, Chinese Medical Association. Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia in adults (2018 Edition). J Thorac Dis 2019;11(6):2581-2616
• International ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Eur Respir J 2017;50(3):1700582
• Kalil. Management of Adults With Hospital-acquired and Ventilator-associated Pneumonia: 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Thoracic Society. Clin Infect Dis 2016;epublished July 14th

• Infection Study Group of Chinese Thoracic Society, Chinese Medical Association. Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia in adults (2018 Edition). J Thorac Dis 2019;11(6):2581-2616
• International ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Eur Respir J 2017;50(3):1700582
• Kalil. Management of Adults With Hospital-acquired and Ventilator-associated Pneumonia: 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Thoracic Society. Clin Infect Dis 2016;epublished July 14th
• Hellyer. The Intensive Care Society recommended bundle of interventions for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. JICS 2016;epublished April 20th

• Immunocompromised Host Pneumonia: Definitions and Diagnostic Criteria: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Annals ATS 2023;20(3):341–353

• BTS clinical statement on aspiration pneumonia. Thorax 2023;78:s3-s21

• Vlaar. A consensus redefinition of transfusion‐related acute lung injury. Transfusion 2019;epublished April 16th

• Kopeć. Role of catheter-directed therapies in the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism. Expert opinion of the Polish PERT Initiative, Working Group on Pulmonary Circulation, Association of Cardiovascular Interventions, and Association of Intensive Cardiac Care of the Polish Cardiac Society. Kardiol Pol 2023;81(4):423-440
• Surgical Management and Mechanical Circulatory Support in High-Risk Pulmonary Embolisms: Historical Context, Current Status, and Future Directions: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2023;147:e628–e647
• Antithrombotic Therapy for VTE Disease. Second Update of the CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report. Chest 2021;160(6):E545-E608
• 2019 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism developed in collaboration with the European Respiratory Society (ERS). European Heart Journal 2019;epublished August 31st
• Interventional Therapies for Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Current Status and Principles for the Development of Novel Evidence: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2019;140:e774–e801
• Rivera-Lebron. Diagnosis, Treatment and Follow Up of Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Consensus Practicefrom the PERT Consortium. Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis 2019;25:1-16

• Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Adults. Update of the CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report. Chest 2019;155(3):565–586

• British Thoracic Society Guideline for pleural disease. Thorax 2023;78:s1-s42
• British Thoracic Society Clinical Statement on pleural procedures. Thorax 2023;78:s43-s68

• SPLF/SMFU/SRLF/SFAR/SFCTCV Guidelines for the management of patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Ann Intensive Care 2023;13;88

• de Moya. Evaluation and management of traumatic pneumothorax: A Western Trauma Association critical decisions algorithm. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2022;92(1):103-107

• Diagnosis and Treatment of Pleural Effusion. Recommendations of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery. Update 2022. Archivos de Bronconeumología 2022;59(1):27-35

• AARC Clinical Practice Guideline: Management of Pediatric Patients With Oxygen in the Acute Care Setting. Respir Care 2021;66:1214-1223

• De Luca. Surfactant therapies for pediatric and neonatal ARDS: ESPNIC expert consensus opinion for future research steps. Crit Care 2021;25:75

• ERS statement on chest imaging in acute respiratory failure. Eur Respir J 2019;54:1900435

• Liu. Guidelines for the use of lung ultrasound to optimise the management of neonatal respiratory distress: international expert consensus. BMC Med 2025;23:114
• TUONO Study Investigators. Thoracic UltrasONOgraphy Reporting: The TUONO Consensus. Diagnostics 2023;13:1535
• Laursen. European Respiratory Society statement on thoracic ultrasound. Eur Respir J 2021;57:2001519

• Research Bronchoscopies in Critically Ill Research Participants. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2023;20(5):621–631

• Li. Aerosol therapy in adult critically ill patients: a consensus statement regarding aerosol administration strategies during various modes of respiratory support. Ann Intensive Care 2023;13(1):63