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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurs when fluid builds up in the tiny, elastic air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs. More fluid in your lungs means less oxygen can reach your bloodstream. This deprives your organs of the oxygen they need to function.
ARDS typically occurs in people who are already critically ill or who have significant injuries. Severe shortness of breath — the main symptom of ARDS — usually develops within a few hours to a few days after the original disease or trauma.
Many people who develop ARDS don't survive. The risk of death increases with age and severity of illness. Of the people who do survive ARDS, some recover completely while others experience lasting damage to their lungs.
- What is ARDS? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Ards/Ards_WhatIs.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Hudson LD, et al. Acute lung injury/Acute respiratory distress syndrome. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Moran GJ, et al. Acute respiratory distress syndrome. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Siegel MD. Acute respiratory distress syndrome: Prognosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Lee WL, et al. Acute respiratory distress syndrome. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192068760-2/0/1288/0.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Siegel MD. Acute respiratory distress syndrome: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, pathology and etiology. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Hansen-Flaschen J, et al. Acute respiratory distress syndrome: Definition, clinical features and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 7, 2011.
- Hopkins RO, et al. Quality of life, emotional abnormalities and cognitive dysfunction in survivors of acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome. Clinical Chest Medicine. 2006;27:679.
- Siegel MD. Supportive care and oxygenation in acute respiratory distress syndrome. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 7, 2011.
- Post-ARDS tips. The ARDS Foundation. http://www.ardsusa.org/tips_post_ards.htm. Accessed March 7, 2011.
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