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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffAcute respiratory distress syndrome, commonly called ARDS, is a sudden failure of the respiratory system that occurs when fluid builds up in the tiny, elastic air sacs in your lungs. In a short time, breathing becomes difficult, depriving your organs of the oxygen they need to function.
ARDS usually 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.
ARDS is fatal in 25 to 40 percent of the people who develop it. Some people who survive ARDS recover completely, though they may not regain full lung function for a year or more.
- What is ARDS? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Ards/Ards_WhatIs.html. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Adult (acute) respiratory distress syndrome. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/atf/cf/%7B7a8d42c2-fcca-4604-8ade-7f5d5e762256%7D/ALA_LDD08_ARDS_FINAL.PDF. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Deal EN, et al. Role of corticosteroids in the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Clinical Therapeutics. 2008;30:787.
- George KJ. A systematic approach to care: Adult respiratory distress syndrome. Journal of Trauma Nursing. 2008;15:19.
- Zambon M, et al. Mortality rates for patients with acute lung injury/ARDS have decreased over time. Chest. 2008;133:1120.
- Leaver SK, et al. Acute respiratory distress syndrome. BMJ. 2007;335:389.
