Acute respiratory distress syndrome: strategies to improve gas exchange

摘要

Since its first description, more than 25 years ago [1], the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has received more attention than any single entity in critical care medicine. The syndrome consists of an acute, severe alteration in lung structure and function, characterized by severe hypoxemia, low respiratory system compliance, low functional residual capacity and diffuse radio-graphic infiltrates, along with increased lung endothelial and alveolar epithelial permeability.