Recent advances in understanding and treating acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a clinically and biologically heterogeneous disorder associated with many disease processes that injure the lung, culminating in increased non-hydrostatic extravascular lung water, reduced compliance, and severe hypoxemia. Despite enhanced understanding of molecular mechanisms, advances in ventilatory strategies, and general care of the critically ill patient, mortality remains unacceptably high. The Berlin definition of ARDS has now replaced the American-European Consensus Conference definition. The recently concluded Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG-SAFE) provided worldwide epidemiological data of ARDS including prevalence, geographic variability, mortality, and patterns of mechanical ventilation use. Failure of clinical therapeutic trials prompted the investigation and subsequent discovery of two distinct phenotypes of ARDS (hyper-inflammatory and hypo-inflammatory) that have different biomarker profiles and clinical courses and respond differently to the random application of positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) and fluid management strategies. Low tidal volume ventilation remains the predominant mainstay of the ventilatory strategy in ARDS. High-frequency oscillatory ventilation, application of recruitment maneuvers, higher PEEP, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and alternate modes of mechanical ventilation have failed to show benefit. Similarly, most pharmacological therapies including keratinocyte growth factor, beta-2 agonists, and aspirin did not improve outcomes. Prone positioning and early neuromuscular blockade have demonstrated mortality benefit, and clinical guidelines now recommend their use. Current ongoing trials include the use of mesenchymal stem cells, vitamin C, re-evaluation of neuromuscular blockade, and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal. In this article, we describe advances in the diagnosis, epidemiology, and treatment of ARDS over the past decade.