Pulmonary and extrapulmonary acute respiratory distress syndrome: are they different?

The pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been described by the presence of direct (pulmonary) and/or indirect (extrapulmonary) insult to the lung parenchyma. Evidence indicates that the pathophysiology of ARDS may differ according to the type of primary insult. This article presents a brief overview of differences between pulmonary and extrapulmonary ARDS, and discusses the interactions between morpho-functional aspects and response to differents therapies, both in experimental and clinical studies.

This systematic review included clinical and experimental ARDS studies found in MedLine and SciElo databases in the last 20 years. Many researchers acknowledge that experimental pulmonary and extrapulmonary ARDS are not identical with regard to morpho-functional aspects, the response to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), recruitment manoeuvre, prone position and other adjunctive therapies. However, contradictory results have been reported in different clinical studies, which could be attributed to the difficulty of classifying ARDS in one or the other category, and to the assurance regarding the onset, phase and severity of ARDS in all patients.

Heterogeneous ARDS patients are still considered as belonging to one syndrome, and are therefore treated in a similar manner. Thus, it is important to understand the pathophysiology of pulmonary and extrapulmonary ARDS in an attempt to better treat these patients.