Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Topic: Medical-surgical
Acute, diffuse inflammatory lung injury in which leaky alveolar capillaries flood the alveoli with fluid (noncardiogenic pulmonary edema), leaving stiff lungs and hypoxemia that responds poorly to oxygen. Sepsis, pneumonia, aspiration, major trauma and pancreatitis are common triggers. It begins within 1 week of the trigger, with bilateral infiltrates and a PaO2/FiO2 ratio of 300 mmHg or less. Care centers on lung-protective mechanical ventilation with PEEP and, when severe, prone positioning; monitor oxygenation and prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia.
- Also known as:
- ARDS
- In Turkish:
- Akut solunum sıkıntısı sendromu
What does Acute respiratory distress syndrome mean?
Acute respiratory distress syndrome is part of the Medical-surgical topic in nursing. Students meet it in class, on clinical placements and while preparing for exams.
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Related terms
Sources
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH
- ARDS Definition Task Force, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: The Berlin Definition (JAMA, 2012)
- Grasselli et al., ESICM Guidelines on Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Definition, Phenotyping and Respiratory Support Strategies (Intensive Care Medicine, 2023)
- Matthay et al., A New Global Definition of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2024)