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Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Background

Since World War I, it has been recognized that some patients with nonthoracic injuries, severe pancreatitis, massive transfusion, sepsis, and other conditions develop respiratory distress, diffuse lung infiltrates, and respiratory failure, sometimes after a delay of hours to days. Ashbaugh et al described 12 such patients in 1967, using the term “adult respiratory distress syndrome” to describe this condition.

Before research into the pathogenesis and treatment of this syndrome could proceed, it was necessary to formulate a clear definition of the syndrome. Such a definition was developed in 1994 by the American-European Consensus Conference (AECC) on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
The term “acute respiratory distress syndrome” was used instead of “adult respiratory distress syndrome” because the syndrome occurs in both adults and children.

ARDS was recognized as the most severe form of acute lung injury (ALI), a form of diffuse alveolar injury. The AECC defined ARDS as an acute condition characterized by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and severe hypoxemia in the absence of evidence for cardiogenic pulmonary edema. The severity of hypoxemia necessary to make the diagnosis of ARDS was defined by the ratio of the partial pressure of oxygen in the patient’s arterial blood (PaO2) to the fraction of oxygen in the inspired air (FiO2). ARDS was defined by a PaO2/FiO2 ratio of less than 200, and in ALI, less than 300.

This definition was further refined in 2011 by a panel of experts and is termed the Berlin definition of ARDS.
ARDS is defined by timing (within 1 week of clinical insult or onset of respiratory symptoms); radiographic changes (bilateral opacities not fully explained by effusions, consolidation, or atelectasis); origin of edema (not fully explained by cardiac failure or fluid overload); and severity based on the PaO2/FiO2 ratio on 5 cm of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The 3 categories are mild (PaO2/FiO2 200-300), moderate (PaO2/FiO2 100-200), and severe (PaO2/FiO2 ≤100).

Go to Barotrauma and Mechanical Ventilation and Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome for complete information on these topics.

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