The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with a mortality ranging between 40 - 80%. An effective drug therapy, however, is still missing. Many experimental models of ARDS exist enabling a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and allowing the establishment of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of patients suffering ARDS. Nitric oxide (NO) and rea...

Viral infections are an important cause of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Numerous viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza A (H1N1) virus, have been implicated in the progression of pneumonia to ARDS; yet the incidence of progression is unknown. Despite acute and chronic morbidity associated with respiratory viral infections, particularly in "at...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the severe complications of influenza H1N1/09 infection, resulting in high mortality. Effective treatment strategies for ARDS are needed. This report presents two cases of ARDS due to influenza in Vietnam. Both cases were similar in terms of starting symptoms, the rapid progression to ARDS, and the treatment strategy, direct hemoperfusion wit...

Introduction Predicting fluid responsiveness is of paramount importance to avoid unnecessary fluid administration in ARDS patients, since a positive fluid balance is associated with ARDS mortality [1]. Several tests with high reliability to predict fluid responsiveness are now available, but none have been validated in the prone position (PP) in ARDS patients, while this treatment is now a corn...

OBJECTIVES Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) have increased globally over the decades, causing an economic burden and increased health care costs. It is difficult to predict the risk of development of ARDs and of respiratory disability among workers with a history of asbestos exposure. Blood based biomarkers have been reported as promising tools for the early detection of malignant mesothelioma....

Pulmonary platelet sequestration has been implicated in the pathophysiology of ARDS. Since HPTs are frequently given therapeutically to patients with ARDS, a serious concern clinically has been the possibility that platelet transfusions might worsen pulmonary function in such patients. To prospectively evaluate this issue, we assessed the effects of HPT on two parameters of pulmonary function: ...

Hydrogen peroxide levels were measured in the breath condensate of 43 patients receiving mechanical ventilation. In 16 patients the mean breath condensate peroxide level was 1.68 +/- 0.35 mumol/l on the day they met diagnostic criteria for adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The peak breath condensate peroxide level in the 27 patients in whom ARDS did not develop was significantly lower...

Mechanical ventilation is an essential component of the care of patients with ARDS, and a large number of randomized controlled clinical trials have now been conducted evaluating the efficacy and safety of various methods of mechanical ventilation for the treatment of ARDS. Low tidal volume ventilation (</= 6 mL/kg predicted body weight) should be utilized in all patients with ARDS as it is the...

OBJECTIVE Clinical predictors for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been studied in few prospective studies. Although transfusions are common in the intensive care unit, the role of submassive transfusion in non-trauma-related ARDS has not been studied. We describe here the clinical predictors of ARDS risk and mortality including the role of red cell transfusion. DESIGN Observat...

INTRODUCTION Despite recent modifications, the clinical definition of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains non-specific, leading to under-diagnosis and under-treatment. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that a biomarker panel would be useful for biologic confirmation of the clinical diagnosis of ARDS in patients at risk of developing ARDS due to severe sepsis. M...