Lung-protective ventilation saves lives in acute respiratory distress syndrome, and its central rule is simple: set tidal volume on ideal body weight, not actual weight. This calculator sizes the tidal volume at the ARDSNet target and offers sensible initial ventilator parameters for both paediatric and adult patients, computed locally in your browser.
How it works
For adults, ideal body weight (IBW) comes from the Devine formula, then tidal volume is the mL/kg target times IBW:
IBW male = 50 + 2.3 × (height_inches − 60)
IBW female = 45.5 + 2.3 × (height_inches − 60)
tidal volume = mL/kg × IBW (target 6, range 4–8)For children, ideal body weight is not derived from height the same way, so the tool takes the measured or estimated ideal weight you enter and multiplies it by the mL/kg target directly.
Example, tips, and notes
A 5-foot-7 (170 cm) man has an IBW of about 64 kg, giving a 6 mL/kg tidal volume of roughly 384 mL and a protective range of about 256–512 mL. A 20 kg child at 6 mL/kg needs about 120 mL. Always pair the chosen volume with a plateau-pressure check below 30 cmH₂O — if plateau pressure is high, reduce the tidal volume toward 4 mL/kg rather than accepting barotrauma. The respiratory rates shown are conventional starting ranges; titrate everything to the blood gas and clinical response.