| Abstract: | The prognosis in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is poor; its mortality is generally 40-60%. The mortality in patients with ARDS is more commonly associated with the sequels of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction than with respiratory failure although the latest papers on protective ventilation suggest that death in these patients directly results from lung lesion in a number of cases. There have been encouraging data on the reduced mortality rates due to acute lung lesion/ARDS in the past decade. The development and introduction of new technologies of respiratory support, the emergence of new effective treatments for sepsis, and the improvement of general maintenance therapy in patients with ARDS may be a possible explanation for such changes for the best. |
